Lashana Lynch says James Bond role is open to all regardless of gender, race or age

Lashana Lynch and Lea Seydoux in a still from No Time To Die. (Eon/Universal)
Lashana Lynch and Lea Seydoux in a still from No Time To Die. (Eon/Universal)

Lashana Lynch has said she believes anybody can be cast as James Bond, but denied she's in the frame to take on the role.

The 33-year-old star is due to appear in this year's Bond adventure No Time to Die as a new agent who has taken over the 007 mantle after the retirement of Daniel Craig's retired superspy.

Read more: Actors who could be the next James Bond

She told The Guardian that "you don’t want me" as the new Bond, but made it clear she thinks the net should be cast wider than the usual suspects when the time does come to announce Craig's successor.

Lynch said: “We are in a place in time where the industry is not just giving audiences what it thinks the audience wants. They’re actually giving the audience what they want to give the audience.

Watch: Final trailer for No Time to Die

"With Bond, it could be a man or woman. They could be white, Black, Asian, mixed race. They could be young or old.

"At the end of the day, even if a two-year-old was playing Bond, everyone would flock to the cinema to see what this two-year-old’s gonna do, no?”

Read more: Lashana Lynch criticises "ridiculous" response to her James Bond casting

Film fans have called for the next James Bond actor to be someone other than a white man, with Idris Elba and Olivia Colman among the names thrown into the mix.

Bond boss Barbara Broccoli, though, has emphatically stated that the character will always be male, but needn't necessarily be white.

She said: "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.”

Lashana Lynch will fight alongside Daniel Craig in new James Bond adventure 'No Time to Die'. (Eon/Universal)
Lashana Lynch will fight alongside Daniel Craig in new James Bond adventure 'No Time to Die'. (Eon/Universal)

No Time to Die sees Bond dragged out of his blissful retirement with Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) when a threat emerges in the shape of Rami Malek's sinister villain Safin.

The movie is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and will mark Craig's fifth and final performance since he took on the famous role for Casino Royale in 2006.

Read more: The turbulent production timeline of No Time to Die

Lynch, meanwhile, has lined up another huge role as she is set to play Miss Honey in the new big screen adaptation of Matilda the Musical.

No Time to Die is due to arrive into UK cinemas on 30 September.

Watch: Lashana Lynch says she's scared for the future of cinema

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