"James Bond must be a man"

Actress Helen Mirren has given her opinion on the casting for the new James Bond film, suggesting that "007 has to be a man" despite considering herself a "huge feminist", reports NME magazine.

Speculation about who will play James Bond has been going on for several years, and speculation reignited when Amazon recently took creative control of the franchise, along with Denis Villeneuve and Stephen Knight, who were announced to direct and write the script for the next installment.

Mirren, meanwhile, starred alongside former 007 agent Pierce Brosnan in the new Netflix film "The Thursday Murder Club," playing a former secret agent who helps her former colleagues, who have also retired, solve a murder case.

Comparing her character to Agent 007, Mirren says her role as Elizabeth is "a lot more realistic, but not as fun as James Bond."

"I'm a feminist, but James Bond has to be a man. You can't have a woman. It just doesn't work. James Bond has to be James Bond, otherwise he becomes something else," she said.

Her colleague, a former James Bond, also believes that after Daniel Craig, the role should once again be played by a man.

"I wish them all the best. I'm very excited to see who the next man is going to step on the scene and bring new life to this hero," the actor previously said.

Mirren has stated in previous interviews that she is not a big fan of the James Bond franchise.

"The whole James Bond franchise is just not my thing. I've never liked how women are obsessed with James Bond. The whole concept is exhausted and born of sexism," she said in an interview with The Standard earlier this year.