Word from the wise: Watch how you speak to Daniel Craig about Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s involvement in the upcoming Bond movie. While interviewing the actor for The Sunday Times, reporter Jonathan Dean noted that in the entire history of the Bond franchise, only one woman had received a writing credit before Waller-Bridge signed on to punch up the script for next year’s entry, No Time to Die. “A cynic might suggest the new recruit has been chosen to help the film look more representative,” Dean wrote—and apparently he asked Craig if something to that effect might be true, because the actor gave him a mouthful on the subject.

“Look, we’re having a conversation about Phoebe’s gender here, which is fucking ridiculous,” Craig said. “She’s a great writer. Why shouldn’t we get Phoebe onto Bond? That’s the answer to that.

“I know where you’re going, but I don’t actually want to have that conversation,” Craig continued. “I know what you’re trying to do, but it’s wrong. It’s absolutely wrong. She’s a fucking great writer. One of the best English writers around. I said, ‘Can we get her on the film?’ That’s where I came from.”

Dean noted that Craig seems to revel in these kinds of heated debates, writing, “By virtue of the energetic rate he punches out words, nothing comes across as rude as it seems on the page. He is, instead, brusque and open. Just a really big fan of ironing things out and, like a friend in a pub during a fourth-pint argument, any bad blood will be forgotten by the journey home.”

With Craig on his way out as James Bond and Lashana Lynch rumored to take over as the new 007, the Bond franchise is destined for some major changes along with hiring its second female writer. The breadth and nature of these shifts—both in front of and behind the camera—remains to be seen. But that has not stopped some angry fans from preemptively complaining, as they also did when Craig took over for Pierce Brosnan.

As IndieWire notes, Waller-Bridge has also been asked to speak about what changes she might bring to the franchise. Back in May, she told Deadline, “There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not [the Bond franchise] is relevant now because of who he is and the way he treats women. I think that’s bollocks. I think he’s absolutely relevant now. It has just got to grow. It has just got to evolve, and the important thing is that the film treats the women properly. He doesn’t have to. He needs to be true to this character.”

Whatever the path forward looks like for Bond, Craig made clear that he’s simply a fan of Waller-Bridge’s work. “She’s just brilliant,” he said. “I had my eye on her ever since the first Fleabag [TV series], and then I saw Killing Eve and what she did with that and just wanted her voice. It is so unique—we are very privileged to have her on board.”

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