Piers Morgan attacked Daniel Craig after he suggested his James Bond successor should be a woman, a move the Good Morning Britain star fears will “ruin” the franchise.
Craig will step down as the 007 agent after his fifth and final outing in next year’s Bond 25. Speaking about his replacement, he said gender and race should not be seen as an issue.
“I think that everybody should be considered,” he told the Daily Mirror. “Also for women and for African-Americans, there should be great parts anyway, across the board.”
Morgan took aim at his comments on Monday’s Good Morning Britain, claiming women in particular would not want a female Bond as they like to “fantasise” over the secret service agent.
Referencing the time he criticised Craig for carrying his newborn in a papoose, he said: “Daniel Craig, fresh from papoose-gate, has now decided the next James Bond should probably be a woman. Why shouldn’t James Bond be a woman? Well here are two reasons: name is James Bond there’s a clue in the name and James Bond is a man.”
He continued: “James Bond was written as a man. James Bond should remain a man. James Bond is a towering monument of masculinity so why would anyone in the entire world, least of all women who all secretly fantasise about James Bond, now want him to become a woman?”
He also took aim at Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller Bridge’s involvement in the script for Bond 25, claiming she was recruited to make the film more “woke”.
Morgan fears Waller Bridge’s involvement means Bond “won’t be able to hit on women anymore” and that Bond girls will now be “Bond people”. Questioning the move, he asked: “Why would you ruin a franchise?”
Who could be the next James Bond? – In pictures
1/10 Tom Hiddleston
If people didn’t already think that Tom Hiddleston could be a great Bond, his recent role in the BBC’s John Le Carre adaptation The Night Manager nudged him even further into the 007 rumour-sphere. He’s got the suave look, the cut-glass accent, and is primed for the next step up in his career
BBC
2/10 Cillian Murphy
BBC
3/10 James Norton
Between War & Peace, Happy Valley, and Grantchester, James Norton has had a brilliant 2016 so far. At 30 years old he’s the perfect age for Bond, and his recent TV work has shown he can be heroic and harrowing in equal measure
Rex
4/10 Richard Madden
A security adviser has said the depictions of the police operation surround the Home Secretary in Bodyguard are extremely accurate
BBC
5/10 Idris Elba
Ever since the notion of him taking the part was raised, poor Idris Elba has been plagued by questions asking if he’d ever take the role. At 43 he’d be a later-years Bond, and his key roles of Stringer Bell in The Wire and DCI John Luther are more gruff and burly than previous 007s, but there’s plenty of goodwill out there for him to do it. And he’d stop getting asked about it every five minutes.
BBC
6/10 Tom Hardy
He’s been rumoured for the part, but it’s hard to picture Tom Hardy as Bond – he’s a knockout at playing rough-and-ready troubled men and has significant range, but it would be an about-turn for him to go slick after his animalistic roles in The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road
20th Century Fox
7/10 Henry Cavill
PA
8/10 Damian Lewis
Following his transatlantic success in Homeland, Damian Lewis has been raised as a potential Bond candidate – but at 45, he’s probably a bit old for it now. Still, he’d be the first redhead to play the role
Showtime
9/10 Aidan Turner
He’s less stacked than Daniel Craig, but Aidan Turner would make a great Bond with hints of Timothy Dalton’s sharpness. The swooning reception to Poldark proved he could be a screen heartthrob, and his simmering, snarling turn in Agatha Christie adaptation And Then There Were None showed he could pull of a tux and a bowtie in devastating fashion
Mammoth Screen
10/10 Sam Heughan
PA
1/10 Tom Hiddleston
If people didn’t already think that Tom Hiddleston could be a great Bond, his recent role in the BBC’s John Le Carre adaptation The Night Manager nudged him even further into the 007 rumour-sphere. He’s got the suave look, the cut-glass accent, and is primed for the next step up in his career
BBC
2/10 Cillian Murphy
BBC
3/10 James Norton
Between War & Peace, Happy Valley, and Grantchester, James Norton has had a brilliant 2016 so far. At 30 years old he’s the perfect age for Bond, and his recent TV work has shown he can be heroic and harrowing in equal measure
Rex
4/10 Richard Madden
A security adviser has said the depictions of the police operation surround the Home Secretary in Bodyguard are extremely accurate
BBC
5/10 Idris Elba
Ever since the notion of him taking the part was raised, poor Idris Elba has been plagued by questions asking if he’d ever take the role. At 43 he’d be a later-years Bond, and his key roles of Stringer Bell in The Wire and DCI John Luther are more gruff and burly than previous 007s, but there’s plenty of goodwill out there for him to do it. And he’d stop getting asked about it every five minutes.
BBC
6/10 Tom Hardy
He’s been rumoured for the part, but it’s hard to picture Tom Hardy as Bond – he’s a knockout at playing rough-and-ready troubled men and has significant range, but it would be an about-turn for him to go slick after his animalistic roles in The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road
20th Century Fox
7/10 Henry Cavill
PA
8/10 Damian Lewis
Following his transatlantic success in Homeland, Damian Lewis has been raised as a potential Bond candidate – but at 45, he’s probably a bit old for it now. Still, he’d be the first redhead to play the role
Showtime
9/10 Aidan Turner
He’s less stacked than Daniel Craig, but Aidan Turner would make a great Bond with hints of Timothy Dalton’s sharpness. The swooning reception to Poldark proved he could be a screen heartthrob, and his simmering, snarling turn in Agatha Christie adaptation And Then There Were None showed he could pull of a tux and a bowtie in devastating fashion
Mammoth Screen
10/10 Sam Heughan
PA
Producer Barbara Broccoli last week shut down the idea of a female Bond, telling Good Morning Britain the character would become a “gimmick”.
The cast for the upcoming as-of-yet untitled film was announced last week at a live reveal at Ian Fleming’s home in Jamaica.
Rami Malek will play a villain while Jeffrey Wright will return as Felix Leiter for the first time since Quantum of Solace.
Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear and Lea Seydoux will also reprise their roles while David Dencik, Ana de Armas, Billy Magnussen Dali Benssalah and Lashana Lynch will make their 007 debuts.
Good Morning Britain is on ITV, weekdays at 6am
