So Idris Elba might be the next James Bond
- Thread starter Torrasque
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Well I can understand why people wouldn't like it but if it's done well as in they don't make him a sterotype or anything other than British he can be whatever race as long as the actor does a good job but he does sort of have to be British or look like it so that can be limiting but Craig is signed for either 2 or 3 more and that's just the guarenteed I know it's unlikely but after his contract he could be signed for more it probably won't happen but hey you never know.
But finally coming back to the main point no I wouldn't care just as long as the actor does a good job and the movie's good.
But finally coming back to the main point no I wouldn't care just as long as the actor does a good job and the movie's good.
Well that theory works with the ones right up till the Danial Craig ones because all the films up till that point were non sequential so none ever directly carried on from the other so the codename could work but in skyfall they established that his real name is bond.deathninja said:
But if the actors good and can at least do a good British impression because that's the only part I'd be really determined to keep through them all then I don't care.
True, he did a pretty amazing job of playing the White God (aka the white As, aka Heimdallr). Technically, this also makes him an exception to something you mentioned below, byTorrasque said:
You'll get a lot of talk on this one, and the general consensus from the social justice-y folk will end up being something like "yes, roles for characters that aren't white shouldn't be open to people who are the wrong race -- only white roles should be open to everyone." That's the essence of the whole "whitewashing is evil but recasting white characters as other races is not just OK, it's extra-good, and if you disagree it's because you are a racist asshole" argument.Torrasque said:
Not a huge Bond fan, but is there anywhere in the source books that actually assigns him a race, other than assumptions made based on his British nationality? The answer to that question answers all three of the above for me -- if James Bond is not canonically described as being white in the original source material (being the novels) then I think it's entirely irrelevant what race he's cast as, so long as they can play the part well; if he is, then canon trumps.Torrasque said:
Personally, I'm all for "if we're going to make race an issue, then let's just hold to the damned original canon all around unless it's a new IP, then go with whatever works because there's no canon to speak of." That allegedly makes me a racist asshole though. Note that that does very much in fact mean that I felt The Last Airbender casting was a horrible mistake, as is the upcoming Akira.Torrasque said:
Holding to the original canon doesn't really work for Bond though, considering how they've treated other aspects of the book canon before.Schadrach said:
Here's an possible idea... instead of just making a black bond, why not make him a black, russian woman who is actually an American agent working for the CIA, I mean if they can retcon everything about him (her?) why not right?
As for roles being open to everyone, Bond is iconic and known for the last 50 years as a particular type of character... even before the movies Ian Fleming wrote him with a specific image (for those who don't know that he was in books before movies I feel really bad for you) so casting him as something other then his image would be like casting Avatar with white guys it was done, but it was a mistake and not because of the acting.
In Summary my fellow escapists, if you wouldn't cast Bruce Willis as Shaft because he's not black then you can't really argue for casting Idris Elba as Bond regardless of how awesome he is.
As for roles being open to everyone, Bond is iconic and known for the last 50 years as a particular type of character... even before the movies Ian Fleming wrote him with a specific image (for those who don't know that he was in books before movies I feel really bad for you) so casting him as something other then his image would be like casting Avatar with white guys it was done, but it was a mistake and not because of the acting.
In Summary my fellow escapists, if you wouldn't cast Bruce Willis as Shaft because he's not black then you can't really argue for casting Idris Elba as Bond regardless of how awesome he is.
Eh, I have to say no on this one. I've never been a fan of race changing any character, no matter which way they're swapping. While I'm all for diversification in Hollywood, I'm not a huge fan of messing with pre-existing characters to do it; it seems kinda forced and hamfisted, even gimmicky. It's just a way to sell movies and grab media attention, half of Thor's media coverage was over Idris playing Heimdall, and the fact that he did a great job was overshadowed by the fact that he is black. Same thing goes for Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
Plus this would be the second time Idris Elba would play a white-guy-gone-black, and he's such a great actor that I'd rather him not become known solely for "blackifying white guys." And we all know that would happen.
Plus this would be the second time Idris Elba would play a white-guy-gone-black, and he's such a great actor that I'd rather him not become known solely for "blackifying white guys." And we all know that would happen.
There's an idea: they could do a movie about Felix Leiter (Bond's American counterpart, the CIA agent he's always working with.) Felix shifts actors even more than bond does, but he was black in his first on screen appearance, and I'm pretty sure he's been black a few times since then. I would /so/ support the guy who played Heimdall as Felix Leiter in a solo outing. The adventures of, say, 008 would be pretty cool, too. If they make him 007, I'd be okay with it, but only if they made the fan theory that "James Bond" is a code name that goes along with the number 007 canon. That way you avoid a white guy suddenly becoming black (the reverse of which kind of bugs me about Felix. You never know who's gonna play him or even remotely what he's gonna look like) -- he didn't, he just retired and someone else stepped up. I don't have really strong feelings about it either way, as long as it doesn't look like stunt casting (hey guys, James Bond is black! Commence with the free advertising, bigots.)Spinozaad said:
Like the American President? I think that's a strange take. When this happens as it typically does (whites or lighter skinned people taking roles from darker skinned folks/people of color in general) no one says this kind of thing. It typically gets defended with cries of "Artistic freedom!"Casual Shinji said:
Anyways, I think it's important to respect the ethnicities of particular tales. If you're gonna do an Avatar: The Last Airbender movie, make sure the fucking protagonist and majority of the cast aren't white. If you're gonna do some kind of period piece set in colonial England, be cognizant that there were people other than whites around, but it's not gonna be shocking to see a majority white cast. In the case of Bond, the only constant is that he's been a white guy. But the character has been played by so many different people that it seems stupid to me to cling to whiteness alone. The character himself more represents Britain than anything, seems to me. It's the story of the cool British playboy spy; none of that necessitates whiteness beyond fan expectation.
So I'm pro-any James Bond so long as he can sound suitably posh.
Well I was trying to mak
As for the Irish guy, the Scot and Aussie playing Bond, well they are all part of the Commonwealth so technically English by extension, personally I'm also waiting to see the South African (white of course) and the Canadian playing Bond as well, ay.
Everything about him can change, except as you pointed out his whiteness, his love of fast cars, his martini, his relationship status (for longer then the single movie) and his style. If you want to change these things by all means go ahead, I have absolutely no problems with a Black secret agent man, especially Idris Elba I would love to see him in a movie like that, just don't call him James Bond because thats not James Bond its a different, and probably awesome character.
Well I was trying to make a point with the whole black, russian, woman, CIA agent part of my comment...maybe you missed it, it was the first sentance.Spot1990 said:
As for the Irish guy, the Scot and Aussie playing Bond, well they are all part of the Commonwealth so technically English by extension, personally I'm also waiting to see the South African (white of course) and the Canadian playing Bond as well, ay.
Everything about him can change, except as you pointed out his whiteness, his love of fast cars, his martini, his relationship status (for longer then the single movie) and his style. If you want to change these things by all means go ahead, I have absolutely no problems with a Black secret agent man, especially Idris Elba I would love to see him in a movie like that, just don't call him James Bond because thats not James Bond its a different, and probably awesome character.
I'd probably be curious how other people react to a black James Bond but I'm not really interested in James Bond movies so I wouldn't care much beyond that.
No, it could be played by anyone who can at least appear to be British.
Same as above, curious of people's reaction, don't care much about the movie.
Yes, any role where the race/gender/etc. is important to the narrative (such as a story of a black slave needs to have a black actor).
No, it could be played by anyone who can at least appear to be British.
Same as above, curious of people's reaction, don't care much about the movie.
Yes, any role where the race/gender/etc. is important to the narrative (such as a story of a black slave needs to have a black actor).
My brother summed it up best once: "The way I see it is when the actor changes it's also the actual agent changing. "James Bond" is just a service name; an alias. The previous agent either died or retired and the new agent comes onto the scene and continues missions as normal."DJjaffacake said:
It's why Daniel Craig's Bond is clearly new to the scene but it's still set in a modern day timeframe.
Fun fact, it's actually the other way around. Many years ago when Marvel pushed out the Ultimates universe spinoff they changed Nick Fury into a black guy and then decided "fuck it let's make him look like Samuel L Jackson, because he's awesome" then when it was time to make the Avengers movie they gave him the role and the whole thing came full circle.Yarkaz said:
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As for me personally? I don't like race-bending in movies at all. There's just no way it can end up without a negative reputation because fans will cry foul for trying to be too politically incorrect and it might unintentionally damage said actor's career as a result. This isn't all just a Black and White thing either; look at what happened to Avatar: TLA and Dragonball Evolution: People were in uproar for whitewashing the characters. Having said that I WOULD like to see some new IPs with a black protagonist who is not Denzel Washington. I don't see why we have to keep falling back on Bonds and Mission Impossibles to get our spy-flick jollies. Also when are Marvel going to roll out Luke Cage and Black Panther movies? I'd also like to see an Iron Fist movie and then a Heroes For Hire sequel tie in for Cage and Fist. I'd like to see some more asian actors getting into main stream cinema while we're at it.
P.S. James Bond is based on a real person, Ian Flemming, who was white. So all that "Bond isn't racially defined" bit? Yeah, he is.
I don't think a black person playing Bond would be a good fit honestly, since for me at least, Bond has always been a sort of snobbish, chauvinist, predatorial, upperclass thug, hiding his inherent brutality beneath the mask of a gentleman, a tool to protect the interests of the empire and the current social order. I think Bond is too reactionary a character to be played by a black actor. (Basically, what I'm saying is, black people haven't been imperialistic enough in their history to play James Bond)
P.S. I might stand rather alone with my interpretation of Bond, as I never really liked the character but thought him to be interesting instead.
P.S. I might stand rather alone with my interpretation of Bond, as I never really liked the character but thought him to be interesting instead.
