Why Halle Berry Doesn't Want James Bond to Be a Woman

Twenty-three years ago, in 2002, the James Bond franchise was celebrating its 40th anniversary, and the film Die Another Day pulled out all the stops. In addition to the fact that the film ended up becoming Pierce Brosnan's swan song as 007, Die Another Day also introduced Halle Berry as the secret agent known as Jinx. At the time, hopes were high for a spinoff film series focused on Jinx, a fact that simply didn't come to fruition then or now. But, Berry says she's not super interested in doing the spinoff this late in the game, and has also weighed in on whether or not the next James Bond should be a woman.

"I don't know if 007 should be a woman," Berry told Variety at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. "In 2025, it's nice to say, 'Oh, he should be a woman.' But I don't really know if that's the right thing to do."

Halle Berry: "I don't know if [James Bond] should be a woman. In 2025 it's nice to say, 'Oh, he should be a woman.' But I don't know if that's the right thing to do." #Canneshttps://t.co/8HVaAgMu1t pic.twitter.com/KIwCR0CPDP

— Variety (@Variety) May 13, 2025

Berry is at Cannes because she's on the competition jury, helping decide which films will and won't bring home awards. She also revealed that she had to change the dress she was planning to wear because Cannes' new red carpet rules forbid it.

 "I had an amazing dress by Gupta that I cannot wear tonight because it’s too big of a train,” she said. To be clear, Berry's planned dress didn't violate Cannes's much-discussed "no nudity" rule, it was simply too voluminous.

But, back on the subject of Bond, Berry was asked whether or not she would still be interested in the Jinx spinoff, seeing that the 007 franchise is now under new management. Although the actress has spoken fondly of her time in Die Another Day, Berry seems content to leave the past in the past. "There was a time that that could have happened," she said. "Probably should have happened. I would have loved for that to happen.”

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