Former 007, James Bond; Pierce Brosnan, arguably one of the franchise’s best-ever lead roles – if only for the N64 video game – has claimed that the time is right for a female James Bond.

Earlier this year rumours began to swirl that Captain Marvel star Lashana Lynch was looking to pick up the Golden Gun after Daniel Craig departed his role as 007. While many fans shot down the idea like so many hapless, poor-aiming henchmen, Brosnan, who held the position for a decade, thinks maybe now is the right time for a female lead.

In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter Brosnan said: “I think we’ve watched the guys do it for the last 40 years, get out of the way, guys, and put a woman up there. I think it would be exhilarating, it would be exciting.”

Exhilarating? Almost certainly. Likely in the near future? Brosnan doesn’t think so. He went on to admit that while producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are at the helm of Good Ship Bond it’s unlikely we will see the change happen. “I don’t think that’s going to happen with the Broccolis. I don’t think that is going to happen under their watch,” he said.

No Time To Die, the 25th Bond movie, will see Daniel Craig reprise the role of Bond for the very last time. The flick is expected to arrive in cinemas April 3rd 2020 in the UK, with the US receiving the latest instalment of action a few days later.