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.