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I do know Doctor Who was scrutinized when changes were made. The Sam version of Captain America existed in the comic books from what I am told. There was still some push back on why not Bucky instead of Sam to carry the mantle.
As to why Bond? I think because he has strong links to the Queen and Country likely makes him a target for some. This is all theorizing on my part.
Theorise away @thedove it's always intrigued me why Bond gets this treatment.
I'm pretty protective of the character, so all this nonsense from the mainstream media gets pretty predictable and tedious...
You get a good actor who's good at playing the role, and not ruling out anyone because of something arbitrary. No change involved.
All of the 007 actors have had different DNA so far. Sounds glib but it's not.
Whishaw proves the point. He probably *was* the best actor for the role, regardless of his sexuality.
Ah fair enough. I'm not too fragile about it! And I see similar ground has already been covered, regardless. Mea culpa.
For me, its not a big deal if Bond is nonwhite, because race does not impact ability. Being a woman... does... so there's that line for myself. Different shape, different chemistry, women are too different, but skin color? That doesn't change Bond's job much, unless we want to explore Bond exposed to racism. Which could be interesting! I think the main point for myself is giving other people the opportunity to "see themselves" as James Bond. I think so many people saw Idris Elba as a good Bond candidate because, well, he was! There was nothing stopping him from being Bond except Daniel Craig probably. I saw there people can get excited about a race-bent Bond, and it inspires people who may not be inspired by a white guy. That's something new for the franchise I think, and new for me as a fan, without interrupting any of my other expectations for the character and franchise.
But by all means let Hollywood create all the spy series they want, with characters more diverse than we can imagine. I welcome more spy films, regardless of who plays what character. But again, why must Bond be changed? Why him? It's the most fundamental question in this debate, at least in my humble opinion. Have we run out of suitable candidates for the role? Are we 'curious' to see what the result might be? Is it indeed a case of allowing others to "see Bond as themselves" the way @LucknFate intelligently suggests? I'm trying to understand it, but I can't. The idea that "it wouldn't matter" doesn't sit well with me. Of course, I'd notice. Of course, it'd matter. Of course, it wouldn't be the same.
I'm much less protective of any other character, by the way. A black Batman? Sure. A gay Q? Absolutely no problem. An Asian Ethan Hunt? Why not? A transgender M? Couldn't care less. It's just Bond himself that I'm so protective of. Again, I'm showing my hand: my case is weak, I have no arguments other than emotional ones. In this debate, I'm not the better man, and I have not trouble admitting it.
"Why must Bond be changed?" Exactly. Why does Bond get so much scrutiny regarding his ethnicity/gender/sexuality..?
Leave my favourite fictional character alone, and make your own damn fictional characters, with the identity you prefer....
I like Bond the way he was written. No apologies from me.
Good question - apart from Doctor Who, I am struggling to think of a lead character who was changed
I agree. Bond has been portrayed at a white English or Australian actor for 60+ plus years.
Idris Elba would be a 🔥M though
I have been a proponent for Elba as M for some time.
Make bond a mango and see how many people show up lol with rachel ziegler as the "Bond waman". 🤣 as she would say "weird weird weird weird"! 🤣🤣😂😭
Anyway, I’m watching CR and changed myself a little bit by being able to spot the shots in the parkour sequences that are a stuntman and not DC. It’s still for me the quintessential Bond. And I loved seeing the quotes of Ken Adam’s sets in NTTD, fwiw.
Someone say bingo! Ding ding ding!
They have already moved the Overton window. Look at all those ugly candidates.
Traditionally King Kong is a giant Gorilla. Would you rather he was something else...?
I have to agree. Traditions mean a lot in relation to our beloved characters. There are changes we can take, changes we deem inevitable, and changes we might even welcome. But some changes simply go too far. Where we draw the line is, of course, different for all of us. I, for one, don't care that Bond stopped smoking a few decades ago, but I know that some fans would rather see him inhaling cigs again. I'm not accusing those fans of promoting bad habits; I respect that they want to keep as much as possible from the "original" Bond, be it Fleming's Bond or Connery's early Bond. Likewise, I prefer to keep Bond a male, heterosexual caucasian. I know that some fans don't care about, say, Bond's sexual preferences, but I do. The womanizing aspect of Bond has been a pretty big deal, even in the early Connery Bonds, and while times have somewhat changed, I'd still love to see him do well with the ladies. Hopefully, that doesn't invite accusations of gay-bashing because they would be unjust. I am merely treating that aspect of Bond's nature as essential to his persona. In other words, my Bond would lose something important if the womanizing suddenly stopped in full.
It's never the same when a new person takes over. I guess the question to ask yourself is why does it matter to you, as you have been.
I don't think he 'must' be changed, just that he could, and I wouldn't mind. It's not about 'running out of suitable candidates' but more just allowing more men to be seen as potentially suitable.
Today there's absolutely nothing about Bond which requires him to be of any particular race.
I agree with that. Nothing requires Bond to be of any particular race. Hence, there's also nothing that requires him to change the race he's always had - in books, comics, video games and over sixty years of film. There's no reason not to change him (other than tradition), but there's also no reason to change him (other than your valid points, @mtm). That's what makes this somewhat frustrating: there's only opinion, taste and personal motives, but nothing objective. ;-) I guess we're all coming from different views here. Ah well, I'm not going to die on this hill. In the end,
Hahaha that reminds me when SF started shooting they shot all the scenes with Craig having a stubble first before shaving it off. The media ran with Craig Bond’s stubble being the “new look” for Bond as if that’s what he was supposed to look like throughout the film.
Yeah that's fair, ultimately it doesn't matter either way.
Nothing is lost, I would perhaps argue that there's something slightly gained in kind of promoting the UK as a multi-cultural society, which is something I'm fairy proud of as a Brit; but it's also not like 007 is the only way of doing that so it's not essential to do it with him. Tradition is neither here nor there for me.
I think it's basically up to whether they find the perfect candidate and what his background is. It's not like they went looking for a blond Bond last time: it just wasn't an issue to them, as it shouldn't be the next time, as perhaps race shouldn't be either. I'm in the camp who think Elba would have made a pretty perfect Bond, but I'm also very happy that we had Craig for that time.
Remember George growing a beard out for the premiere of OHMSS and the producers were none too happy. A beard would seem to be pushing it. I agree no beard for Bond.