So Idris Elba might be the next James Bond

[Blunderboy]

I'm less suprised at them asking him for being bond, and more suprised that so many people know of him. I didn't remember him from anything until you people told me he was that guardian in Thor and the pilot in Prometheus, two incredibly forgettable characters.

It's possible you're not British and therefore don't know him from the TV drama Luther. Or the Guy Ritchie film RocknRolla. Or The Losers, though that was American.

 

[Blunderboy]

I dunno.

I look at you these days, Idris, you know what I see? I see a man without a country. Not hard enough for this role right here and maybe, just maybe, not smart enough for them roles out there.

Seriously though, haven't we had enough Bonds? A new spy franchise, please.

Random thing too, if you could cast a replacement to take over when Craig finishes, who would you cast?

Fassbender.

Oh fuck yes. In First Class Fassy is like a mutant sixties bond.
Great call.

 

[Ledan]

Go ahead. I don't care who is cast as james bond as long as they fit these criteria:
-They look good in a suit
-They can wisecrack and portray different emotions
-They are "good looking"

The movie shouldn't be super realistic, should include gadgets, and super villains. Bond should be able to take 3-5 henchmen on his own.

 

[IamQ]

I'm less suprised at them asking him for being bond, and more suprised that so many people know of him. I didn't remember him from anything until you people told me he was that guardian in Thor and the pilot in Prometheus, two incredibly forgettable characters.

It's possible you're not British and therefore don't know him from the TV drama Luther. Or the Guy Ritchie film RocknRolla. Or The Losers, though that was American.

Probably. I'm Swedish, and it doesn't help that I don't want any tv-shows anyways.

 

[Bobic]

Well, I'm going to join the chorus of 'why kick Craig out of the role now, he seems to be doing well, and Idris is almost the same age anyway'.

As for a black bond, eh, no problem with that, though I seriously doubt it'll happen any time soon, there aren't even that many movies that get released with a black protagonist that aren't about black-culture or starring Will Smith (and any other minorities stand even less of a chance). So taking a beloved white character and making him black would probably cause your producer to kick you in the nuts.

Also

As to whether a black actor can play Bond; sure, if a white actor can play Shaft. However I think if a character is written in a series as belonging to a certain gender/ethnicity then they should probably be played by an actor who best matches that description, purely for accuracy to the text. I was horrified at the "white-washing" of movies like Avatar and potentially what's happening with Akira. They should have definately been played by Asian actors. It's not like there aren't fine Asian actors. There are also a lot of excellent black actors, case and point Morgan Freeman, however I was surprised when he was cast as Colonel Kurtz in the movie adaptation of Stephen King's 'Dreamcatcher'. Kurtz in the novel was a tall, fair haired, albinoid white guy. He was only a minor character so it's not a big deal, but as I was very familiar with the story it just seemed a bit strange. Presumably he was hired to bring some credibility to the movie.

Then again I have no problem with a black Spiderman, and I'm a Spiderman fan. I guess because Spiderman's identity has very little to do with his ethnicity.

Speaking of racial swaps, Morgan Freeman and Stephen King, they changed the ethnicity of Red in the Shawshank Redemption film. Red in the novel was actually white-Irish, and had ginger hair, hence the name. In the film they cast Morgan Freeman and it worked perfectly, he nailed the role and was a major contributor to that film's awesomeness.

Really it's more about who works with the role, like Idris Elba was quoted as saying above, it shouldn't be about having a Black Bond, it should be about having the best Bond (regardless of ethnicity). Though, as I said above, the best bond will be judged as the one that moves the most tickets, and either due to hollywood's mistaken perception of the public's racism, or our actual racism, I don't think they'd risk putting anyone not white in the role.

Edit: Yay questions!
If Idris Elba actually does turn out to be the next Bond, how would you feel? Fine, he's a perfectly capable actor, though I don't care that much about Bond so probably wouldn't see the new film anyway.
Do you think James Bond is a role that only white guys should play? No
How would you feel about an asian James Bond? Again, fine, unless they got George Takei to play Bond, then it would be the best film ever.
Do you think there are certain roles that shouldn't be open to everyone? Well, anyone based on a real person for a start. People in historic settings should be suited to the setting or at least explain how they got there (e.g. it would've been weird if in the Last Samurai Tom Cruise just started as a samurai and it was never addressed). Any fictional characters are fair game though.

 

[Thespian]

Idris Elba would make an amazing Bond, I have to say. I'm not much of a Bond fan but honestly I think he'd kill in this role. He has a huge stage presence, confidence, and he's appropriately suave and cool. He is also sufficiently British.

My only problem is that he'd probably fairly similar to the bond that Craig plays. I'd still like to see it but then Elba would be cool in any intense action-y role like that.

 

[Woodsey]

Wouldn't have a problem with it, although they'll be faced with a reboot again. Bit of a stretch to say that a black guy grew up in the Scotland wilderness as a boy in the 70s.

For me, I think the only requirement for a James Bond actor is male and British.

Who said that?

Because, y'know, Craig has been signed on for two more movies. And if, by chance, they get each of those out in two years after the previous one, Elba will be 44 when the role is vacated. Then, some time in pre-production, he'll be 45 by the time filming starts. It's not really a matter of skin color; it's about age. Why sign someone only four years younger than the last guy?

Didn't Pierce Brosnan have 2 movies on his contract when they dumped him? I'm not saying Craig is out, but do you think he has 2 more films left in him?

He's only just signed for the extra two.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

I'm less suprised at them asking him for being bond, and more suprised that so many people know of him. I didn't remember him from anything until you people told me he was that guardian in Thor and the pilot in Prometheus, two incredibly forgettable characters.

It's possible you're not British and therefore don't know him from the TV drama Luther. Or the Guy Ritchie film RocknRolla. Or The Losers, though that was American.

or, you know, THE WIRE.

there's simply no valid excuse for not having seen it.

 

[Commerford]

Doesn't bother me at all that there could be a black bond, in fact i'm more pissed about the new Quartermaster. Not the actor, just; 'guy who is super good at all computers HERP DERP!'. Fuck that noise, gadgets and better banter with bond or gtfo.

OT: Idris is one of the finest actors the UK has produced in a while, and thinking back on it, Luther almost looks like an audition for this new gritty Bond.

 

[StBishop]

my dad is kind of racist... lol

What the actual fuck?

I don't know if you're one of those people who use "lol" as a form of punctuation, (I really hope this is the case) but racism isn't funny. Even when it's "harmless old people". Still abhorrent.

So I have a few questions for you:

If Idris Elba actually does turn out to be the next Bond, how would you feel?

Do you think James Bond is a role that only white guys should play?

How would you feel about an asian James Bond?

Do you think there are certain roles that shouldn't be open to everyone? (certain races, certain genders, etc.)

I'd have to see him in the role.

Nope.

Don't give a fuck.

Yep.
Although Bond is a book adaptation I personally have no knowledge of the Bond books, I don't know how he's described. I think any adaptation should be visually accurate.
If this is achieved through CGI (Andy Serkis) or the person being inherently similar in appearance to how the character is portrayed in the other medium (most of the cast of the Harry Potter films) then it's fine.

I can actually understand people complaining about Heimdal but I didn't give a fuck because I am not farmiliar with the source material. Same deal with Jake Gyllenhaal being the Prince, it was stupid.

 

[DTDfree]

Ha? I smell race bait.

 

[mattttherman3]

They should do another connery Bond movie. Sean connery bond trying to discover which nurse is stealing from him in his nursing home. 007: Fallen and can't get up

 

[game-lover]

As to whether a black actor can play Bond; sure, if a white actor can play Shaft.

This was my very first thought when I read this. To me... Bond is such a pinnacle role that I think it'd be a pretty hard sell for Idris to just be considered the new Bond instead of the black Bond. Just the way I see it. I could give another example and say sure if a white guy could ever play Blade.

Wouldn't have a problem with it, although they'll be faced with a reboot again. Bit of a stretch to say that a black guy grew up in the Scotland wilderness as a boy in the 70s.

And then this was my second thought. You know that fan theory about how 007/James Bond is just an alias that is switched interchangeably with every new agent who ends up taking the previous one's place? Casting Idris Elba as James Bond would be very, very good for that. And every person who thought of or agreed with this theory would be pretty smug, I'm sure.

But if they'd still try to say that James Bond is just the one man, then they're gonna have some problems. I mean, for a bunch of people, Daniel Craig is an issue because they believe he's too old--or at least appears so--to be Bond in his younger years when he just started especially when he appears older than Pierce who was the previous one.

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That being said, I'd enjoy it if he got the role but only if it's based on a reboot type situation. Otherwise, bad news.

 

[DJjaffacake]

There are so many plot holes and continuity weirdness in the Bond universe now that it really doesn't matter whether Bond is white or black or indeed any other race.

 

[Woodsey]

As to whether a black actor can play Bond; sure, if a white actor can play Shaft.

This was my very first thought when I read this. To me... Bond is such a pinnacle role that I think it'd be a pretty hard sell for Idris to just be considered the new Bond instead of the black Bond. Just the way I see it. I could give another example and say sure if a white guy could ever play Blade.

Wouldn't have a problem with it, although they'll be faced with a reboot again. Bit of a stretch to say that a black guy grew up in the Scotland wilderness as a boy in the 70s.

And then this was my second thought. You know that fan theory about how 007/James Bond is just an alias that is switched interchangeably with every new agent who ends up taking the previous one's place? Casting Idris Elba as James Bond would be very, very good for that. And every person who thought of or agreed with this theory would be pretty smug, I'm sure.

But if they'd still try to say that James Bond is just the one man, then they're gonna have some problems. I mean, for a bunch of people, Daniel Craig is an issue because they believe he's too old--or at least appears so--to be Bond in his younger years when he just started especially when he appears older than Pierce who was the previous one.

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That being said, I'd enjoy it if he got the role but only if it's based on a reboot type situation. Otherwise, bad news.

I don't know why they'd be smug about it (ignoring the fact that it's stupid anyway), they'd still have been wrong when they thought of it. It'd just be useful now if he were to play him.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

I've been calling for this for quite a while now, seeing as he's pretty much my number one choice for the next actor to play Bond.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Erm... I don't think this is a great idea. As someone pointed out, Craig's going to be around for a while longer, and by the time he's done Idris Elba is going to be a bit too old to play the role for very long. Also, I don't think it's racist to say that Bond is too iconic a character to be played by someone of a different race. The whole 'Bond isn't always the same guy' theory is still a fan theory, it doesn't make much sense for Bond to be black when you look at his official background. And in my opinion, if Michael Fassbender isn't the next Bond, the whole world is wrong.

 

[romxxii]

Didn't Pierce Brosnan have 2 movies on his contract when they dumped him? I'm not saying Craig is out, but do you think he has 2 more films left in him?

But Brosnan's last film bombed. Skyfall, on the other hand, has earned both critical and box office success. I doubt they'd dump Craig right after he made them millions.

 

[Fumbles]

Firstly, what's wrong with Daniel Craig? I would have thought he has a couple of Bond movies left in him.

Idris Elba would certainly look the part and would do a good job but I don't know about casting him.

As to whether a black actor can play Bond; sure, if a white actor can play Shaft. However I think if a character is written in a series as belonging to a certain gender/ethnicity then they should probably be played by an actor who best matches that description, purely for accuracy to the text. I was horrified at the "white-washing" of movies like Avatar and potentially what's happening with Akira. They should have definately been played by Asian actors. It's not like there aren't fine Asian actors. .

While I agree with you, honestly name 5 Asian actors who can speak English, and be in the same age group that is needed for Akira (and can sell movies)... If you can do that then you need a job as a casting director.