Should we ever have a Black James Bond ??

Read somewhere that a black actor who is very good and would probably do a good job (though I forget his name) is being thought of as a candidate for when Craig goes!!

There is no reason why he can't play James Bond in my eyes.....However he would be removed from the Bond in the books who was so obviously caucasian that...1. Would it look like a PC fop???.......2. Would people buy it???????..

Please take this article in the way it is intentioned.....

One of my favorite actors is Carl Weathers (Action Jackson).He was cool and masculine but I'm not sure he was BOND.............

Difficult one this.......

I don't really see the point in giving the role, it would detract from the rest of the film because everybody would be thinking and talking about how James Bond is black rather than the merits or otherwise of the film. Especially as the films have tried to make it clear that 'James Bond' isn't actually a codename as the popular (and better) theory asserts. It'd be a bit silly to give the role to a black man after all that.

I think it was Idris Elba. No problem from me.

Crimey wrote:I don't really see the point in giving the role, it would detract from the rest of the film because everybody would be thinking and talking about how James Bond is black rather than the merits or otherwise of the film.

I'm not so sure that would last though. You might get a kickback for the first film but people would soon adapt their thinking, especially if they are accomplished actors. If, as Adam suggests, Idris Elba is in line for the role, then that would be an excellent choice. He is a fantastic actor and would bring the right kind of Daniel Craig style earthiness and a humour that the character needs.

If people are so absent minded to be that bothered by the colour of the actors skin then, quite frankly, f*ck em. If they want to spend their time thinking and talking about a black Bond rather than the quality of the actor, they can do that whilst the grownups enjoy the film.

Would be a bit weird. I would hate to think a black actor got the role because he is black though.

I think it's fine.

I agree aith Tino - what difference does skin colour make? Bond has been updated from its original 50/60s (?) setting.

A black man walking into Casino Royal in that period may have been out of place but bearing in mind that Bond films are set in the present, its not a major thing.

Wasnt Felix Leighter (sp?) black in the most recent films. That didnt cause a stir.

Now if they cast Cynthia Rothrock as Bond, that would be something to discuss!

It would be as bad as a Scotsman playing James Bond! Oh wait...

I think the only ones who could really take any serious umbrage to this would be the big-time Bond geeks, to be honest. Obviously, you've got half a century of films, a shed load of books and a galaxy of memorabilia depicting Bond as a white man and there will always be some 'devoted' folk who'll take things a bit too seriously and get their knickers in a twist over the lack of continuity.

I'm guessing it would be the same if a white fella was cast as Huggy Bear!

That aside, I don't see why it would or could bother someone really. Some will probably moan that it's just a token PC gesture, but then again those same people were saying the same thing when they started making films in which Bond no longer threatened / slapped women, or when he started objectifying them less than he did in the sixties / seventies yarns.

I doubt Idris Elba is in line for the role solely because he's black in any case, either. He's a genuinely talented actor with that cool, engaging Bond demeanour and I doubt there's anyone else out there with better credentials than him to follow Craig in any case. It's incumbent upon the makers of the films to try and produce the best movie possible, and if Elba's the best man to help them achieve that, then good luck to him. It's only a film at the end of the day, and if people are seriously getting worked up over it and taking exception to a man being cast in it purely because he's black, then they've got a few issues which need working on, methinks!

88Chris05 wrote:

I doubt Idris Elba is in line for the role solely because he's black in any case, either. He's a genuinely talented actor with that cool, engaging Bond demeanour and I doubt there's anyone else out there with better credentials than him to follow Craig in any case.....It's only a film at the end of the day, and if people are seriously getting worked up over it and taking exception to a man being cast in it purely because he's black, then they've got a few issues which need working on, methinks!

I just said that.

You just said it more eloquently.

Git.

I'm in the "why not?" category - if the actor (or, shock horror, actress?!?) can do justice to the character, then that's fine with me.

I wouldn't be surprised if Wilson and Broccoli deliberately chose to let Daniel Craig step into Bond's shoes with his own hair and eye colour, with half a view on whether the public would accept. Obviously, a number of people were resistant, particularly before Casino Royale was released - but it's now a non-issue for most folks, I think.

Wouldn't be absolutely necessary, but another franchise reboot would be a good excuse to make such a change - not that I expect one in the next 5 years or so.

Idris Elba is in any case a bit busy at the moment playing Heimdall (in Thor 2) and cancelling the apocalypse (Pacific Rim). But hey - power to [him].

Should there be a black James bond? No. Not neccessarily.
Could there be? Yes.




Just to be pedantic

How about a black Sherlock Holmes?
Or a white Shaft?

This comes to mind https://youtu.be/ULdm2NLrN4E

Being honest, and reverting to type as a massive Bond fan, James Bond should be the following:

British (English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish)
Roughly 6ft - 6ft 2inches tall
Athletic (not over-muscular build)
Good-looking, suave but having enough "dog" in him to handle himself in any situation.

Whilst I appreciate that the PC brigade think it's a great idea to have a black James Bond, I am not sure it would work from a "traditional" point of view. It smacks too much of a "Me too please" suggestion; it almost sounds as if there is too much "box ticking" going on. I have no problem with black actors - in fact I consider Denzel to be the best living actor (and I believe he was robbed in this year's US-centric Oscars) - but I just don't think it is necessary. Like someone else has suggested - why not have a white "Shaft"? It just doesn't work.

A female James Bond? There's a problem here - it's all in the name.... Besides, after Dire Another Day there were rumours of Halle Berry doing a "Jinx" spin-off. It was canned. I wonder why???
An American James Bond? His name is Jason Bourne. (Or Ethan Hunt / Jack Reacher if your name is Tom Cruise)
A black James Bond? Idris Elba could work, but by the time the role becomes vacant again he will likely be 47-48 so too old anyway.

Let it be. It's good as it is.

What about a ginger or a female James Bond? I sincerely hope they never have an American Bond.

The Craig era has been crap anyway and the series would need to go back to 60's cold war to regain a niche.

They missed a chance with Clive Owen.

Crap?????........................You're in the minority there Mate...

SKYFALL has taken over 500 million.

Watched it the other night Trussman, and while I thought it was quite a good film, it was a rubbish Bond film.

The end was like the bloody A-team. Dreadful

I was thinking Home Alone

I just think the best actor for the role should play it regardless of skin colour .

But that being said and as much as i like Idris Elba i think its been mentioned he will probably be abit old for the part given Daniel Craig isn't leaving anytime soon .

I know many would be against this as it would go against books but....

As Bond continues could we perhaps see the code name 007 being given to an agent who assumes the name 'James Bond' rather than use their own name? It would give the series extreme lengths for continuity if every new actor in the role is someone different. 007/James Bond becomes a Job/role within MI6. The way it would come about would be that the original James Bond would be killed in active service.

Kinda like how in comics Steve Rodgers as Captain America dies and Bucky Barnes assumes the role of Captain America (well i'm 95% sure thats how it went, haven't read them myself).

Take it from me a black man.

James Bond should NEVER be played by a black actor.
Why the need? Bond is a fictional character who is clearly white, to make him black is an insult to the movie going public. People are not ready for a black Bond if Bond becomes black people will protest.

And lets not forget. Bond is always just in time to save the world. Black Bond is always late.

Hang on. Talk of black secret agents... ONETWO turns up... Coincidence?

Spoiler:

Not only should the next Bond be black, he should also have a new back story where he was born in a housing estate in Liverpool, to unmarried parents.
He should be a feminist and a socially aware Liberal gay rights campaigner in his spare time.
He should dress proper mean in urban civies with a baseball cap (unbent peak) but have pictures of One Direction up on his wall to show his inner conflicts and turmoil.
He should donate to Children in Need and watch Corrie.
He should say "The name's Bond, Jymes Bond yeah" and "A gin'n'tonic, love and whatever your 'avin' ourself, darlin'" in a perfect soapy whisper.
He should listen to more music on his i-pod and generally have a more interesting, realistic life with girlfriend-getting-pregnant storylines and family issues with his long lost half sister's uncle rather than the cliched action drivel he gets up to at present.

In short, he needs to get more relevent to the issues that affect people in today's Britain like unemployment and ASBOS and Chelsea having a tough time in the League and things

Yep, it's time Bond became Black.

As a black male, I wouldnt mind a black Bond, but I would be pretty dissapointed if they did for sake of him being black.

Can Bond be black? Yes, storyline dependent. If MI6 had a mission in, say Tanzania or Uganda obviously a white male would stick out like a sore thumb. It would make sense for them to send Black Bond out. Me not being a story line writer, I probably gave a weak example, but my point is with the right storyline, it could work. Surely we past the stage where black males arent capable of being suave.

Oman with the Golden Gun?

Black males are extremely capable of being suave - Sidney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington etc....

It's not about whether a blackman can wear a suit and seduce a lady...it's more 'Why would you want to make Billy the Kid black? He was white. Why would you want to make Lord Nelson black? He was white. Why would you want or need to make Inspector Morse black...his writer made him white.

Colour wasn't the reason why Bond was created. He wasn't created to be specifically white on principle. But white was the colour and ancestry of the character Fleming dreamed up. That's Bond - white, upper-middle class, British (part Scottish, part Swiss) secret agent fictional hero. That background is as much him as the lazy oneliners, the women in the showers, the nice cars, dangerous moves and caricature baddies.

You might as well say why couldn't/shouldn't they make Bond American? The large cinema going American audience would love it. But he isn't American. He's British. Britishness is part of his iconography.

Invent a suave Black secret agent who sleeps around and hangs out in underground bunkers if need be...but Bond is white like Darth Vader is black

SecretFly wrote:
Invent a suave Black secret agent who sleeps around and hangs out in underground bunkers if need be...but Bond is white like Darth Vader is black

Spoiler:

It's my day off... I'm allowed!

Fleming did not envision Bond being a 5'9 (Dan Craig isnt 5'10) blonde either, did he? Admittedly a black Bond is a bigger jump, but lets not pretend any concessions would be a first for Jimmy.
Wolverine is 5'3 in the comic books, can a you really claim theres a 5'3 actor who could do more justice to Wolverine purely because he is a foot shorter than Jackman?

Again, I have nothing against Bond remaining white, becoming Arab or whatever else they choose to do to him. All I'm saying is let a man who best embodies Bond play him.

And I'm not going to be on any protests if the next one turns out to be black, Kingraf

I'll laugh at the political correctness of it all but I'll reserve judgement on him and base my like/dislike of him on the portrayal of character...like I've done with all of them.

But Bond is entertainment and escapism. I think some people are doing too much of a pseudo political "Equality means a black man should be given the opportunity next".
Not you , I'm not saying you're one of them but I've heard snippets of debate on this before.

I say nobody is asking for the next Jason Bourne to be black. Nobody suggests Wolverine should be given a makeover in racial terms. Everyone expects Superman to remain white. Somethings are considered natural but Bond somehow has to be handed around the racial and socio-political spectrum? After a black Bond, then a female Bond?...then a Gay Bond?, then a Bond who speaks less upperclass? Then the next political distinct 'community' representation. It just seems needless to me. But whatever, the producers will decide

super_realist wrote:Watched it the other night Trussman, and while I thought it was quite a good film, it was a rubbish Bond film.

The end was like the bloody A-team. Dreadful

Agree with this.

My biggest gripe with a black Bond is that you could'nt create a shortlist of any proper length. Unfortunately, in most films the obligatory black actor is tasked with being the best dressed, and then spouting garbage like "thats whack" "Take her to church"

We had a perfect black bond.

His name was Action Jackson starring Carl Weathers. He beats Bond any day.

Agree Action Jackson Is a great movie....His career went downhill after that.

Never saw Action Jackson yet.

To be honest, I see no problem with a contemporary Bond being black - I'm sure MI5 / MI6 of the early 21st century have quite a few coloured and black agents, although this almost certainly wasn't the case for the 2930s/40s when the books are set or for the 60s and 70s when Connery and Moore were cast in the role.

I don't though think the next (or next but one) Bond SHOULD be black, just that the best available British actor is cast in the role.

Does anyone think an American actor will ever get the part ?

Do American Actors get any parts these days? Even have difficulty picking up cowboy work in recent years!!!

Neeson has been a cowboy
Brosnan has been a cowboy
Craig has been a cowboy
Day Lewis has been Lincoln
Anthony Hopkins has been Nixon
In Batman, set in a fictional city somewhere in America.... Batman is English, his butler is English, Bane is English, the Scarecrow is Irish, the Commissoner is English, Ra's Al Ghul is Irish....

Whew... I'll bet those American actors look forward to the auditions these days when everyone seems to be a better class of American than they themselves!

So yes - Vin Diesel should be next Bond...speaking with a British accent and wearing one of Connery's old hairpieces......

oops..almost forgot...Joker was an Aussie...knew I missed someone

Sh!t films for people who shouldn't be old enough to to remember the series' history. Therefore in the words of Michael Jackson..."it doesn't matter if your black or white"

This site has a strict age profile????

Oops.................. I'll leave my membership on the table on the way out............

you forgot Spiderman is now english

..the only explanation I can come up with is that English and Irish actors work for less! ...it certainly isn't because they are better actors.

Good actors yes...but not good enough to replace Americans as Americans. I generally like my Americans to be American for some strange reason.

A black Bond would be controversial...I imagine the producers would play it safe.

SecretFly wrote:..the only explanation I can come up with is that English and Irish actors work for less! ...it certainly isn't because they are better actors.

Good actors yes...but not good enough to replace Americans as Americans. I generally like my Americans to be American for some strange reason.

British actors certainly do American accents better than American actors do British accents in general.

But then, it's an easier accent to do given we've all grown up listening to it - Americans weren't really exposed to the same frequency of the European kind............... until lately!

And I'd still prefer more American actors taking up 'American' roles.