Reporting For Duty
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Categories
How would you feel if a black JAMES BOND was cast?
Will Smith, Jamie Fox and Sean Combs have all expressed interest in the role of 007.
And they are all American.
If one of these casting choices happened, I would be very disappointed and angry. What would be your reaction?
And they are all American.
If one of these casting choices happened, I would be very disappointed and angry. What would be your reaction?
This discussion has been closed.
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
I agree with Luds :-S
It is an interesting point you propose gregdaulton. I believe at this very moment in time I might warm to it, if he is of corse a member of the queens england.How ever I would have to concur with Luds and BAIN123 if this news so chanced broke of the said character played by one of the said actors i'd be cursing at my computer.
And NO i don't know why i'm talking like this
Bond being a white Englishman is a core part of the character.
The only reason to do that would be some kind of PC madness....
While they're at it they could make Indy a blonde woman, Superman Chinese, and JAWS into a killer Clownfish.....
There is a place for people of all minority's in a Bond film but when you start straying too far from Fleming's original concept the only result is going to be disaster, both financially and artistically.
It usually rears it's head when one actor leaves. TV and radio start the usual 'black Bond' stuff to whip up debate (Dr Who gets the same thing regarding a female Dr).
One old argument was that Colin Salmon would make a good Bond, and he spoke of it himself soon after Brosnan finished. My argument at the time was that Salmon would be a terrible Bond. Nothing to do with colour, everything to do with charisma. He didn't have what it took to carry a Bond film. Otherwise he would already be a top star.
No, when the source is a series of novels, the writer has to be respected. James Patterson's character in his novels is Alex Cross a black detective, played by Morgan Freeman in the films (although he was too old for the role in truth). Any future Alex Cross adaptation will see a black man cast as it should be.
Robert Ludlam's character in his books, Jason Bourne, was white. And so was Ian Fleming's.
A black James Bond isn't only a stupid idea, it's also a very unoriginal idea. Instead of taking an already world famous character and turn him black, how about, as I said, create a new character, start up a new franchise, and if in 50 years this character is still popular. Turning Bond into a black character is just such an easy way of doing it. Start up your own franchise, don't steal ours.
--
Yeah for sure DC, if they want to make an action star "Black James Bond" version I'd be up for that and if well produced and written I'd likely become a fan. Just don't call him James Bond, or Jason Bourne, or anything else already established.
What's next? Richard Simmons as the next Indiana Jones? Jack Black as the next Lara Croft? Halle Berry as the next Jack Bauer?
But the whole argument about Black Bond is lead by the PC police who'd argue that it would be the same character in a reboot or whatever. Same type of stories, same type of cast, music, action, etc. Just with a black actor taking the lead. If this were to happen as @gregdaulton put out, it would cause some serious issues with the fanbase. And if it did, evidently, the PC police would call all those people racist. :-))
In Britain we have the return of a cop drama this year called 'Luther'. The role of Luther is played by Idris Elba a charismatic and dynamic actor. He is black but his colour is irrelevent because it isn't important in the overall structure of the drama. The character could as easilly be white but Elba got it because (no doubt) he was the best actor for the role.
Then there is the comic/drama 'Hustle' about a group of con artists.
Adrian Lester has led the cast for all but one series, and the one he missed was by far the worst one. Lester is cool, attractive, funny, charismatic...and black.
There is plenty of room for black leading actors in British TV and on film.
Not Bond though. Never Bond.
Maybe I'm a hypocrite: I personally feel that Jeffrey Wright is the first Felix Leiter to *do* anything with the role. He's 100% perfect. With only a few lines in each film he has managed to create a character. Good job!
But Bond himself? Is the real issue ethnicity? Have any of the actors (since Fleming wrote it in) been half Scottish, half Swiss? We've had an Australian, a Welshman, an Irishman and a Scott as Bond. Is complexion so important? Maybe.
But let's be real: it's never going to be an issue! Hollywood is too safe for that.
No black Bond, no gay Bond, no female Bond and no Zombie Bond. Pu-lease!!!!
@DaltonCraig007 People who want '60 Bond back are out of luck, that will never happen simply because the world in general doesn't. Kiddies wouldn't be into it. But there's still a lot of people in general who would not like Bond to all of a sudden become Black. The hit for this would be from more than hardcore Bond fans, yet perhaps people who don't currently watch Bond would suddenly become interested, who knows.
First of all, it feels rather condescending to the black community; very patronizing indeed - as if black people require a black James Bond to continue their lives or further their status in society.
Second of all, it feels like a back-handed slap against white people; as if Bond remaining a white character is not acceptable because it is keeping black people down.
Finally, and most importantly, a black James Bond would betray Fleming's original character. I honestly do not mind if they change a secondary character's orientation because those secondary characters add color and contex to Bond's world. The 21st Century is a different place than it was in the 50s and 60s; a black Felix Leiter and a female M make sense in our world and the casting of Jeffery Wright and Judi Dench makes sense because they are perfect for the roles talent-wise.
However, the last time I checked, the films are still about "Ian Fleming's James Bond" - http://screenmusings.org/QuantumOfSolace/pages/QoS_0071.htm - and that character is a white Brit with Scottish and Swedish ancestry. Change his race, and you change the entire character and story - he becomes a completely different character with a different kind of upbringing, heritage, and walk of life that got him where he is. That is not the character I wanted to watch because the character that I wanted to watch was Ian Fleming's James Bond.
In short, Ian Fleming's James Bond should not be fundamentally changed because he is great the way that he is.
As far as fan reactions, it is my experience that Hollywood studios don't listen to fans of a property so our point of views and opinions might be excluded if they were to seriously consider this prospect.
So what's the point of asking the question - and why black? why not brown, why not etc? Is black the obvious thing to say to cause a stir; who cares really? Next thing you'll BE telling me is there will be a black AmerIcan president oh ok, let's say a black female catholic lesbian Muslim president.
In fact that should be the new thread title - Should Bond be a black lesbian Muslim woman?