James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has revealed that while she is casting a wide net in the search for the next 007, the role will categorically not be going to a woman.

It’s been well-documented that the upcoming film No Time To Die will be Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond, with speculation rife over who will replace him.

Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba and Richard Madden are names that have repeatedly been linked to the role, while there’s also been a lot of debate about whether the character should next be played by a woman.

However, in a new interview with Variety, Barbara suggested that she thinks casting a female star in the role would actually be doing women a disservice.

She told the magazine that the search for the next James Bond hadn’t formally started, noting: “He can be of any colour, but he is male.

“I believe we should be creating new characters for women – strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it.”

Barbara added: “I think women are far more interesting than that.”

Before we find out which actor will succeed Daniel Craig, there’s the small matter of No Time To Die, which hits UK cinemas in April.

Joining Daniel are returning stars Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris, as well as new additions to the cast Rami Malek and Lashana Lynch, the latter of whom plays a new secret agent who has taken over James Bond’s 007 codename.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Billie Eilish would be recording a new Bond theme for the film, making her the youngest artist to ever do so.