Movie star rejects changing characters to satisfy diversity goals, instead wants new original characters
Movie star Ana de Armas argued the entertainment industry should create new characters rather than gender-swap established characters like James Bond or John Wick.
In recent years, the entertainment industry has been in constant battle over changing the race, gender, and other aspects of classic characters to cater to modern cultural norms. Some have voiced their concerns that Amazon MGM Studios gaining creative control of the James Bond franchise will radically change the character, particularly after studio executives Courtenay Valenti and Sue Kroll reportedly declared they would bring forth a "fresh, exotic new chapter" to the series.
Ana de Armas, who is known for being in popular films like "Knives Out," "Blade Runner 2049," and James Bond’s "No Time to Die," spoke about the future of the James Bond franchise, arguing the character should not be changed.
De Armas had been attending CinemaCon, the annual convention for movie theater owners in Las Vegas, promoting her upcoming film, "Ballerina," a spinoff of the "John Wick" series. While there, she spoke to Variety Magazine about the discourse around women in James Bond movies.
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"Why don’t we have more movies about Paloma?" she asked of her character in "No Time to Die" while speaking at the event. "Let James be James and John Wick be John Wick. We’ll do our thing. When you get a woman fighting, you’ll be surprised the things she can pull off."
While some are concerned about the future of the James Bond franchise, De Armas nonetheless told Variety that she is confident about its future.
"I’m sure that Barbara Broccoli and Robert Wilson made the best decision for James Bond," de Armas said of the James Bond series’ creative control being handed over to Amazon MGM Studios. "Whatever happens, that can go anywhere [creatively]."
Variety noted that de Armas has been addressing recent discourse stirred up by actress Helen Mirren, who recently said that she isn't interested in a female James Bond because she "never liked" the character, whom she says was "born out of profound sexism."
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"The whole series of James Bond, it was not my thing. It really wasn't," Mirren told The Standard after being asked about Amazon MGM Studios gaining creative control of the British spy film franchise. "I never liked James Bond. I never liked the way women were in James Bond."
Variety recalled that, if anything, de Armas’ involvement showed the series had already made a shift in "No Time to Die," where "her character Paloma was praised for breaking with Bond Girl tradition. The character not only got the movie’s biggest laughs, she held her own in gun and hand combat alongside Daniel Craig, saving his Tom Ford-suited a-- in their scenes together."