Charlize Theron is flattered by fans who think she’d make a great female James Bond – but she thinks she’s too old for the role. Theron has proven remarkably versatile as an actress, jumping from weighty dramas to silly comedies with ease. She received a whole new fanbase thanks to her work in Mad Max: Fury Road, where she played Furiosa. It was her character who drove the story forward, and she kicked as much ass – if not more – than Tom Hardy’s Max.
Theron also made an impression with 2017’s Atomic Blonde, where she played an MI6 agent in 1989 Berlin. The movie contained one of the most exhilarating – and gruelling – action sequences of the year when her character Lorraine is confronted by assassins on a stairwell, and she has to fight through them. In addition to being an MI6 agent, Lorraine is also a chain-smoking, hard-drinking spy who’s handy with a gun, leading to some fans putting her name forward for a gender-flipped take on James Bond.
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Theron was asked for her thoughts on the idea in a new interview with Yahoo!, and while she continues to be flattered by the notion, she doesn’t sound like she’s craving the role either.
Look, that’s incredibly flattering. I’m super flattered by that. You know, I don’t have a feeling about it one way or the other. I love the idea that people are thinking outside the box. And I know for a long time people were talking about Idris Elba for it. And it’s just nice to see people now thinking outside of [these] confined ideas of what we think a character can be. I’m really all for that. I think it’s great that we are developing more characters within that genre for females, that they can take ownership. So, it’s a really nice thing for people to say. I’m very old though. I would be a very old James Bond.
Theron’s Prometheus co-star Idris Elba was also tipped by fans for years to take over Bond if Daniel Craig left, but considering Elba is currently 45, and Craig is set to return one last time, it seems likely producers will seek a younger star to replace him. Theron, who's 42, also thinks her age would rule her out, though it's worth noting Roger Moore was 46 when he took over, and retired from the character aged 58, so there’s precedent for an older take on the role.
Lots of names have been thrown around for the James Bond role in recent years, from Chris Hemsworth to Gillian Anderson. The producers of the upcoming James Bond 25 are probably pleased they won’t have to think about replacing Craig for at least one more movie since the actor has made the role his own since his 2006 debut in Casino Royale. Theron makes a good point that it’s nice to see fans are open to rethinking the character of Bond, and a gender-flipped version would certainly be a different angle for the long-running series.
In the meantime, there’s hope Theron could turn Atomic Blonde into her veery own spy franchise and return for a sequel. Sadly, despite the character of Furiosa becoming something of an icon, it seems any potential spin-off may be in limbo following director George Miller’s lawsuit against Warner Bros., so that project may never go ahead.
More: Theron Is ‘Ready’ For Furiosa Solo Movie
Source: Yahoo!
