Rumors have been swirling for some time now regarding the future of the James Bond franchise. With Daniel Craig expected to walk away from the series following four films in 10 years, the film industry has been hot on the hunt for any indications of a potential successor. Obvious names like Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba and others have been thrown around, as have some under-the-radar choices like Jamie Bell.
One movement that has some support among fans is to gender swap the character of 007 and go in an entirely new direction. If that were to happen, "Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke would love the opportunity, and she has the perfect Bond Boy in mind to join her.
"I have a lot of unrealized dreams," she said in a recent interview. "I would love to play Jane Bond. My ultimate leading man would be Leonardo DiCaprio. No doubt about it."
Clarke is not the first actress to publicly campaign for the coveted role. Gillian Anderson ("The X-Files") has also shown support on Twitter for a fan campaign nominating her for the role. Anderson retweeted a fan-created poster, featuring her as Jane Bond, before adding a throwback image of herself in a suit and saying, "Jane Bond potential a la 1995."
"Skyfall" and "Spectre" director Sam Mendes officially confirmed this weekend that he will not be returning to the franchise. He also cautioned that the next casting will likely come as a surprise to fans.
"There's this constant debate about who's going to be the next Bond," he said. "The truth is - and here's the headline: it's not a democracy. It's not the X Factor, it's not the EU referendum, it's not a public vote. Barbara Broccoli chooses who's going to be the next Bond: end of story."
Broccoli is the long-time producer of the Bond franchise who inherited the rights to the series from her father, Albert Broccoli, the original producer.
Mendes reminded everyone that fans were initially dismayed with the casting of Daniel Craig before he won everyone over with his performance. He noted that that was Broccoli's call.
"Without that, there would be no Daniel Craig because public support for Daniel was zero. It was her saying 'that man over there is going to change the whole thing, I'm going to cast him,'" said Mendes.
