We’ve seen female 00 agents. In No Time to Die, Lashana Lynch took over the 007 moniker when James (Daniel Craig) “retired.” But James Bond the character has always been a man and it kind of needs to stay that way. He operates in the world differently than a woman would. So a Jane Bond story would be completely different, as Mirren pointed out.

Helen Mirren sparks debate after insisting James Bond must stay male and Pierce Brosnan agrees, as casting rumors for the next 007 intensify.

Helen Mirren made a case for why she doesn’t think a woman should play James Bond. “I’m such a feminist. But you can’t have a woman,” the actress, 80, said in a joint interview with her The Thursday Murder Club costar Pierce Brosnan for Saga Magazine published on Monday.