Just as the new James Bond has hit the screen, the chatter about who is going to replace Daniel Craig has already begun. Some are adamant that it should absolutely not be another white, straight, macho man - the times have moved on from all that. But would changing the character into a woman or a person of colour or with a different sexual orientation be doing violence to the very concept of who James Bond is? Not if the new Bond is able to move with the same suave confidence, owning every room they walk into, having fun and sex, and blowing things up without anyone questioning their right to do so – in the fantasy world gender and race and sexuality do not have the same constraints they have in the real world . The question then becomes, is the audience ready to accept a world in which Bond isn't a macho white man? If the answer is no, then it’s time to kill James Bond, argues Adriana Clavel-Vázquez.

With Daniel Craig’s last Bond adventure in theatres, the question of whether the next Bond will be another white dude has emerged. Some think a change in Bond is unnecessary. What we really need is to create great characters and opportunities for people of colour and women. And they are not wrong. The film industry, and our aesthetic interests, would benefit from supporting a great variety of characters and stories. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something in the demand for a well-established franchise to consider expanding its casting choices beyond white men.

Bond offers a fantasy but in doing so also says something important about how we engage with others in real life. Bond gets to do what he wants, and who he wants, no consequences. He drives awesome cars and gets to play with awesome gadgets. He attends stylish parties. He gets to save the world. All while looking great in beautifully tailored suits. Bond is fun. And he always has a seat at the table. It’d be great to imagine that people who aren’t white men can have that same kind of fun. That can in theory be done without sacrificing too much of who Bond is as a character. The question is, would the audience buy it? If not, then it’s about time we let James Bond die.

How we engage with fictional others is not inconsequential. It says a lot about how we engage with others in real life. It’s not simply about people seeing themselves in these films (although that’s undeniably important). Who we allow to have this kind of fun in fiction says a lot about what we expect from and for others in real life. When we engage with fictional narratives, our interests become aligned with the interests of specific characters and according to what is of import for the work. The allegiances we allow in fiction say a lot about who is allowed to get away with doing what they want in real life. So, the question about Bond’s next casting isn’t misguided; and it’s not enough to answer that there’s no need to consider the alternatives when we can just create other stories for characters and actors who aren’t white males.