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Here we go again : Idris Elba as Bond.

GerardGerard
in News Posts: 5,994
Yes, I know, but something had to be said about that article I just found :

https://cbr.com/idris-elba-james-bond-rumor/

My two cents : All right, I'm pretty flexible as casting choices go. I can accept changes if there's a logical reason for it. The Doctor a woman ? Okay, he/she/it is an alien who can change shape. Hermione Granger now a black woman ? A wizard did it. Watson an Asian woman ? It's a modern reimagining of Sherlock Holmes. Same with Arsène Lupin as a black man (yes, Omar Sy will get the part in a modern version of the eponymous gentleman thief). Heimdahl a black Asgardian god ? Well, he's a god, and frankly, I don't see myself telling a god what colour he should be (especially one played by Idris Elba).

However, Bond has been with us since 1952, if memory serves, and on the screen more or less continuously since 1962. And frankly, if people want a black secret agent, why don't they create their own ? When Ernest Tidyman wanted to write stories about a black private detective, he didn't blackwash Sam Spade of Philip Marlowe. He created Shaft, "the black private dick who's a sex machine to all of the chicks". And it worked, magnificently : three movies in the seventies, plus a TV series, made Richard Roundtree a star, won at least an Oscar. And as for female James Bond, we already got Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde. No need to feminize the character. So, could we please stop messing with established characters' race if there's not a logical reason behind it ? After all, i still remember the Harvey Dent debacle, and I didn't like it at the time. End of rant.

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