With limited options and even fewer studios willing to put a woman at the helm of a major motion picture, it’s no wonder so many female directors are signing deals with Netflix.
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With Danny Boyle confirmed to direct Bond 25 and rumors of Idris Elba being next in line as the British spy after Daniel Craig, we’ve decided to flip this male-centric 007 talk by speculating what the Bond world would look like if a woman were behind the lens.
After all, there are countless female directors who know their way around gritty, “masculine” subject matter appreciated by both male and female audiences, so why shouldn’t / couldn’t it happen? With this in mind, here are the female directors we think would nail Bond 25:
Kathryn Bigelow
According to Screen Rant, The Hurt Locker director was even urged by the former Sony Pictures chief Amy Pascal to direct a Bond adventure. Although she dismissed the idea, Bigelow has proven herself to be a true master of big budget productions.
Patty Jenkins
Jenkins absolutely killed it with the portrayal of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and her team of Amazon warriors, so why shouldn’t she be able to deal with Daniel Craig amidst a series of explosions and gun fights? Just imagine how much fiercer the Bond girls would be.
Niki Caro
If Spectre taught viewers anything about James Bond, it’s that the franchise had reverted back to its traditional misogynistic leanings. Perhaps for Bond 25 the film could use the magic touch of the Mulan master Caro, with her gender-inclusive sets and focus on strong male and female leads.
Ava DuVernay
Skyfall was another of the franchise’s flicks that was criticised for its portrayal of women, with each major female character being killed off to motivate Bond’s actions. Perhaps then DuVernay’s experience making movies and TV shows that have been firmly grounded in race and female power would add a nice touch to the next Bond instalment.
Susanne Bier
While rumors of The Night Manager star Tom Hiddleston becoming the next James Bond were flying around in 2016, why don’t we start our own fresh rumors linking the show’s director Bier as the next in line to direct Bond 25? After all, she’s already proven her ability to tackle big budgets and “masculine” themes.
Amma Asante
We’d love to see the actress-turned-director handed the reigns for the next 007 flick, mostly because she previously spoke out about how “women are pigeonholed into making ‘certain types of movies’ due to ‘misguided distrust’ from executives”. We’re sure Asante would be the ideal candidate to prove otherwise.
Jane Campion
No doubt the award-winning Campion could shake (not stir) the franchise up with her unique vision on gender politics and the female gaze. Maybe we’d see even more strong female leads alongside Bond (a la Judi Dench in Goldeneye).
Sam Taylor-Johnson
Another director with big-budget finesse, Taylor-Johnson raked in more than half a billion dollars for Universal Pictures with Fifty Shades of Grey (not that the Bond franchise has ever had an issue with selling tickets). If it were to ever happen though, she’d have to switch silver chains for golden guns.
James Gunn – director and writer of the GotG Marvel movies – who has been forced out of his position at the helm of the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 after a series of distasteful tweets resurfaced regarding topics such as pedophilia. Whatever your take on this whole mess is, we’re going to go right ahead and suggest a number of women who we think are more up to the job.
