By James White | Posted 16 Jan 2020

With the 25th official Bond film, No Time To Die, headed to our screens this April, it's only natural that producers and franchise overseers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are out doing publicity. And, talking to Variety, they are firm on what they see as the future for the character in a post-Daniel Craig world: diverse, but always male.

The news may come as a disappointment for those hoping that the doors to 007 status (Lashana Lynch is at least playing a fellow agent in No Time To Die) would be flung open in the wake of Craig deciding to leave the role, but Broccoli clarifies her position: "He can be of any color, but he is male,” she says. "I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that."

And according to Wilson, they are casting a wide net to find the next person to fill Bond's sharp suits. "You think of him as being from Britain or the Commonwealth, but Britain is a very diverse place." Fans of Dev Patel, Daniel Kaluuya and even Idris Elba: keep hope alive!

No Time To Die, which arrives in the UK on 2 April, is all over the latest issue of Empire. Recently, the team behind the film has locked in Hans Zimmer as its new composer and announced that Billie Eilish will sing the movie's theme. Here's All You Need To Know.