Daniel Craig Wants To Retire The Phrase 'Bond Girls,' Thank You Very Much

After 15 years of the James Bond spotlight, Daniel Craig finally decided to let loose and get a little candid about one aspect of the franchise that has long since been the subject of debate: "Bond girls."

"No more Bond girls," he told Entertainment Weekly after being asked what he feels he has to correct people about most often regarding his character and the film series as a whole. "They don't exist anymore," Craig added during the video interview alongside his co-stars on October 7. "They may exist again, but not in my movies."

Craig's "No Time to Die" co-star Lashana Lynch — who made headlines when it was revealed that her character, Nomi, would replace Craig's Bond as the new owner of the 007 codename in the latest installment — backed him up when it came to his confident stance. "He said what he said," the actress asserted, snapping her fingers matter-of-factly in the clip.

Craig is beloved within the franchise — but he didn't start that way. When he was first cast to succeed Pierce Brosnan in "Casino Royale," his talents were questioned because he didn't fit the typical mold left by past Bonds like Timothy Dalton, Sean Connery, and Roger Moore. However, the "Knives Out" star went on to lead five films for the franchise.

In November 2019, Craig confirmed he would leave the James Bond franchise following his final bow in the highly anticipated "No Time to Die," which releases in theaters today. However, he doesn't seem all that concerned about the legacy he leaves — and after all his hard work, I don't blame him. "Maybe I'll be remembered as the Grumpy Bond. I don't know," he told the New York Times earlier this month. "That's just my Bond and I have to face up to it, that has been my Bond. But I'm quite satisfied with that."

It's clear that Craig is on the right side of history with this opinion, and it's great to see him state it so valiantly. The ladies of the franchise have been analyzed and scrutinized for many years — but their evolution is rarely acknowledged, let alone in such a bold and surefire way.

Craig suggests that the female characters of his five films, as well as the other iconic women from the franchise's impressive 58-year run, have been seen as sexual objects first, a running tab of damsels-in-distress and femme fatales who have, in turn, become a lot more complex and dimensional over the years. His films in particular have capitalized on crafting meaningful stories for the women in Bond's orbit — so we can only hope that the franchise continues to expand on what they've already done for the ladies of the 007 world when Craig withdraws from his post next year.