Sam Mendes, who directed notable James Bond films ‘Skyfall’ (2012) and ‘Spectre’ (2015), recently spoke with Inverse on his future in the franchise.

Mendes touched on Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and Amazon MGM Studios are leaning toward filmmakers who are “more controllable.”

“They want slightly more malleable people who are earlier in their career, who perhaps are going to use it as a stepping stone, and who are more controllable by the studio,” Mendes said.

On his future on the Bond films, he feels like his time has come and gone. “It was very good for me at that moment in my life. I felt like it shot me out of some old habits. It made me think on a bigger scale. It made me use different parts of my brain. You have to have a lot of energy.”

Mendes would also appreciate a female director to helm the next Bond film (from an interview with Deadline in 2022). “I think that the actor playing Bond is going to evolve, the director has to evolve. I think it would be wonderful to see a woman directing Bond. I think it would be wonderful.”

With Daniel Craig exiting the role of James Bond in 2021’s ‘No Time to Die,’ new directors are being eyed to give a fresh take on the iconic franchise, and officially exited the franchise and Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been rumored as the new Bond for months. Additional fancast-favorites includes Henry Cavill and Richard Madden.

“He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male,” producer Barbara Broccoli said, “and that’s fine. We don’t have to turn male characters into women. Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.”

Popular ‘Wednesday’ actress Jenna Ortega recently chimed in on James Bond’s recasting, saying; “I love that there’s a lot more female leads nowadays, I think that’s so special. But we should have our own. I don’t like it when it’s like a spinoff — I don’t want to see like ‘Jamie Bond.’ You know? I want to see another badass.”

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