James Bond casting director McWilliams bids farewell to Franchise for 'sad' reason

The upcoming James Bond film is likely to see a major change as casting director Debbie McWilliams has officially retired from the critically acclaimed films.

After casting each of the previous 13 James Bond films, McWilliams confirmed the unexpected news in an email to Screen. 

She told the outlet, “I have now hung up my casting hat and have moved on to other film-related projects.

“I am sad to see the end of this era but totally understand why it has happened. Prior to Amazon acquiring MGM, Barbara and Michael had a good working relationship with the studio and always held the final decisions.

“Producing a Bond film takes at least 2 years of their lives with little time for anything else. And with Michael retiring I think Barbara did not have the appetite to shoulder the burden alone. She has so many other interests, especially with her theatre projects.”

The former casting director, who has worked on all James Bond films for Eon Productions from 1981’s For Your Eyes Only till 2021’s No Time To Die, retired from her long-time role ahead of Amazon MGM Studios’ acquisition of the franchise.

Speaking of Amazon's previous projects, she further went on to add, “Looking at Amazon’s previous theatrical films does not fill me with any great enthusiasm.”

For the unversed, McWilliams’ had the opportunity to cast three talented actors in the role of James Bond across the years, including Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.

This news comes after she was honoured with a casting award from the UK’s Casting Directors Guild. The award was presented to her by Broccoli and Gemma Arterton.