Idris Elba for Bond?

Iranoutofideas

Race aside, Idris has his age against him. Fassbender is just a better choice all round.

pixelburp

I dunno, for me, culturally, James Bond doesn't belong to the novels any more, and considering how his appearance has been wrong since Dr. No, it seems a bit silly get worked up about it now. The character was a complete fantasy trip for Ian Fleming, the 'true' appearance a bit too like the author to be coincidence. Heck, as mentioned, the portrayal during the Moore era was more Austin Powers than Ian Fleming's James Bond.

Jumboman

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

The character is white. End of story.

If they get a black James Bond the next thing they will want is a female Bond or gay Bond etc.

Its political correctness gone mad.

Bipolar Joe

The next James Bond should be a llama.

MagicMarker

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

The next James Bond should be a llama.

Don't be so ****ing ridiculous.

Llama's aren't British.

Donnielighto

MagicMarker wrote: »

Why is it that because someone floated the suggestion of Elba as Bond, that it must have been made just to be politically correct? Are people really incapable of seeing it as just another suggestion of an actor to play Bond?

And why is it okay when the source material ignored when it comes to looks and nationality? Doesn't Eve in Skyfall go on to be M's Secretary, aka, Miss Moneypenny? Eve is black if you don't recall.

Who ignored nationality, bond is scottish but raised in england isnt he? All actors have played that role. I think you're being intentionally obtuse on that point. Also regarding height etc and moneypenny's race m's gender, they dont really have any impact on the back story of bond as a person or the series as a whole. Unless you take it as a one of the peers from the 70s like someone said as being his parents then you are disregarding his background entirely, just start a different series if you dont want it to be bond tbh.

Call Me Jimmy

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

The next James Bond should be a llama.

To the writing room!

MagicMarker

Donnielighto wrote: »

Who ignored nationality, bond is scottish but raised in england isnt he? All actors have played that role. I think you're being intentionally obtuse on that point. Also regarding height etc and moneypenny's race m's gender, they dont really have any impact on the back story of bond as a person or the series as a whole. Unless you take it as a one of the peers from the 70s like someone said as being his parents then you are disregarding his background entirely, just start a different series if you dont want it to be bond tbh.

If he was raised in England then why did he have a Scottish accent?

What I'm getting from you is it's not okay to go against the source material, except for when you don't care when they go against the source material.

Donnielighto

MagicMarker wrote: »

If he was raised in England then why did he have a Scottish accent?

What I'm getting from you is it's not okay to go against the source material, except for when you don't care when they go against the source material.

I said in my earlier post that connery cant do accents, any director who's worked with him has to have come to terms with this, he played a russian sub captain as scottish ffs. Btw bonds parents died when he was 11. Also he returned to schooling in scotland in fettes, with a background like that he could have ended up with either accent.

If you are getting that from my posts then I would question your comprehension tbh. I have already stated that smaller details can be chopped and changed when they dont affect a character's story? How has being tall affected him as a character, what about his hair colour, have they had major impacts on key parts of his life that we know of, no. But his 2 main issues as a character come from parents' background and what happened to them affecting his self destructive tendencies and also what happens his first love which leads to his attitude towards relationships with women.

ancapailldorcha

I'm glad we're able to discuss this without accusations of racism being bandied about. Who knows what depths such a debate might have plunged to on Youtube.

I've no problem with Elba being Bond. Anyone else and I'd feel it was tokenism. I'd rather see new IPs being created to be honest with people from ethnic minorities and women taking centre stage rather than altering existing IPs though I suppose that would constitute an unacceptable financial risk to studios. In this case, the Bond backstory can be edited quite easily to accommodate Elba's background. I didn't even know the character's back story before seeing Casino Royale and it never even occurred to me to google it. Speaks volumes really.

pickarooney

Brosnan and Lazenby changed their accents. Elba could simply use white make up.

conorhal

He's too old, Craig (who's already looking a bit haggard) is commited to one more film after Spectre, so it will be 2017 before Elba would get a shot. As far as I know that would make him almost 50 starting out as Bond!
I don't think Elba fits the role either, he's just 'too London' and too big physically for Bond. I think he's make a cracking Bond villian though, the last couple have been pretty underwhelming.

Duggy747

If they were to go the route of a black Bond then I've always wanted someone like Idris, he's got the chops to play a Bond or even appear in a substantial role in a Bond film.

He'll be around 47 / 48 by the time he gets a crack at it though Roger Moore was around 45 when he got his chance.

To me, Bond is just a name, the agent who becomes him just dons the title so there really is no certain criteria I expect beyond being suave and kicking the shít out of people :pac:

Anyways, you have to look at the bigger picture; If Idis becomes Bond, how good will he look in designer suits, wearing designer watches, holding the latest smartphone, driving the latest car, using the latest laptop......

shalalala

Duggy747 wrote: »

I
Anyways, you have to look at the bigger picture; If Idis becomes Bond, how good will he look in designer suits, wearing designer watches, holding the latest smartphone, driving the latest car, using the latest laptop......

You have put into words what I have been afraid to say incase I come off pervy :pac: Bond just has to look good and kick ass in a stylish way. Idris fills that role perfectly!

OldeCinemaSoz

C'mon. Bond died with THE OTHER FELLA. Yeah, not with HARRY H but with
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING.

THE OTHER FELLA didn't do a half bad job though.

"This never happened to the OTHER FELLA!!!"

Wedwood

People were appalled when Craig was selected as the blonde Bond, they're now eating humble pie as Craig's now being hailed as maybe the best Bond.

If your a good enough actor, you can be a good Bond irrespective of ethnicity.

So far, there's been a Scot, Australian, English (x2), Welsh and Irish, a fairly mixed bag already.

ricero

as much as i like Elba id be disgusted if Fassbender didn't get the gig. He was born to play Bond

loyatemu

ricero wrote: »

as much as i like Elba id be disgusted if Fassbender didn't get the gig. He was born to play Bond

History would suggest the Brocollis like their Bonds cheap (at the start at least), Fassbender may already be too big a star. Clive Owen was also born to play Bond, but never got the part.

Hans Bricks

Surprised there's no thread on this yet,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3015757/Roger-Moore-racism-row-saying-Idris-Elba-t-Bond-s-not-English-English-English-unlike-half-previous-007s.html

Idris Elba can't be Bond because he isn't 'English English' says Roger Moore: Star claims comments about London-born Luther actor were 'lost in translation' after becoming embroiled in race row

I think RM has been taken out of context. I think what he meant was that James Bond has always been an aristocratic, white caucasian British man. I'm of the opinion a lot of racism accusers are engaging in naive tokenism.
Could become a very contentious issue when Daniel Craig leaves the franchise.

MagicMarker

Hans Bricks wrote: »

Surprised there's no thread on this yet,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3015757/Roger-Moore-racism-row-saying-Idris-Elba-t-Bond-s-not-English-English-English-unlike-half-previous-007s.html



I think RM has been taken out of context. I think what he meant was that James Bond has always been an aristocratic, white caucasian British man. I'm of the opinion a lot of racism accusers are engaging in naive tokenism.
Could become a very contentious issue when Daniel Craig leaves the franchise.

Eh... well if that's what you really think he meant then it implies Elba isn't really English just because he's black. How is that not even a just a little bit racist?

It will only be a contentious issue for racists. I'm sure the rest of us won't care.

Hans Bricks

MagicMarker wrote: »

Eh... well if that's what you really think he meant then it implies Elba isn't really English just because he's black. How is that not even a just a little bit racist?

It will only be a contentious issue for racists. I'm sure the rest of us won't care.

Speak for yourself. I was going more along the lines of the type of background and the type of character profile that's been used for Bond candidates since Dr.No.

I wouldn't be particularly fond myself of Stringer Bell from The Wire taking over the legacy of the 007 franchise.

MagicMarker

Hans Bricks wrote: »

I wouldn't be particularly fond myself of Stringer Bell from The Wire taking over the legacy of the 007 franchise.

You do know Stringer Bell was a fictional character right? Ibris Elba isn't actually a drug dealing gangster, some black people even have jobs! :rolleyes:

Hans Bricks

MagicMarker wrote: »

You do know Stringer Bell was a fictional character right? Ibris Elba isn't actually a drug dealing gangster, some black people even have jobs! :rolleyes:

You're getting fairly wound up on this thread. Again.

No need to be so condescending. I'm just saying I can't imagine him taking over from Craig or any predecessors. Between his cocky, too cool for school voice, the characters he's played in the past (Yes even Luther), I can't see him being able to depict a charming, sauve, sophisticated, highly intelligent and naturally cool character like 007.

Iranoutofideas

He's too old so its a non-story.

shadowcomplex

I think Tom Hiddlestone would be a very good bond

Hans Bricks

I think Colin Salmon would be a better choice if you didn;t factor in his age of 52. Colin Salmon.jpg

ricero

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

He's too old so its a non-story.

Bang on the money. He's to old for the role as is Craig one could also argue. I think they will go with a younger actor for the next bond. Either tom hardy or fassbender.

Maximus Alexander

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

He's too old so its a non-story.

ricero wrote: »

Bang on the money. He's to old for the role as is Craig one could also argue. I think they will go with a younger actor for the next bond. Either tom hardy or fassbender.

On what basis is he too old? He's 42.

Roger Moore was 45 when he took up the role.
Timothy Dalton was 42.
Pierce Brosnan was 42.
Daniel Craig was 38.

He's the exact right age.

quickbeam

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

On what basis is he too old? He's 42.

Roger Moore was 45 when he took up the role.
Timothy Dalton was 42.
Pierce Brosnan was 42.
Daniel Craig was 38.

He's the exact right age.

If he took the role right now, that is. It's based on the assumpion that Craig still has several years left. So Elba will be pushing 50 by the time they're casting again.

qt3.14

Hans Bricks wrote: »

Speak for yourself. I was going more along the lines of the type of background and the type of character profile that's been used for Bond candidates since Dr.No.

I wouldn't be particularly fond myself of Stringer Bell from The Wire taking over the legacy of the 007 franchise.

You wouldn't be saying that if you'd seen Luther. The man can act.

swimming in a sea

qt3.14 wrote: »

You wouldn't be saying that if you'd seen Luther. The man can act.

new series of Luther in the making, best UK show i've seen in years

Hans Bricks

qt3.14 wrote: »

You wouldn't be saying that if you'd seen Luther. The man can act.

Oh I'm not doubting his acting abilities. I've seen Luther too. But 007 ?

Just can't fathom it. I've grown up with seeing only white british men portray the role. It's the same with Shaft or Pam Grier in Foxy Brown. Doesn't suit the character to use a different ethnicity.

qt3.14

Hans Bricks wrote: »

Oh I'm not doubting his acting abilities. I've seen Luther too. But 007 ?

Just can't fathom it. I've grown up with seeing only white british men portray the role. It's the same with Shaft or Pam Grier in Foxy Brown. Doesn't suit the character to use a different ethnicity.

I don't think Bond is defined by being white in the same way as Shaft or Foxy Brown and other blaxploitation films were defined by the colour of the protagonists.

His family history would be more important imo, and as posted somewhere back the thread, it's not unrealistic for a modern Bond ie born in the 70s or later, to be black.

Anyway, going to throw James Callis into the mix now that my brain is turning things over.

Mickeroo

qt3.14 wrote: »

I don't think Bond is defined by being white in the same way as Shaft or Foxy Brown and other blaxploitation films were defined by the colour of the protagonists.

His family history would be more important imo, and as posted somewhere back the thread, it's not unrealistic for a modern Bond ie born in the 70s or later, to be black.

Anyway, going to throw James Callis into the mix now that my brain is turning things over.

His family history isn't that important at all, the Scottish thing only apparently came about because Fleming liked Connery's portrayal in the films and he decided to add it into the books afterwards.

colossus-x

If Elba is in the running then so too could anyone. How about Maggie Smith ?

loyatemu

It won't be Elba - he's too old (and I really doubt they'll go for a black actor, there was enough grumbling about Craig being blonde)
It also won't be Fassbender or Tom Hardy, they're too high profile and therefore expensive.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Penn

I do think Elba would have made a fantastic Bond but he's too old at this point. By the time Spectre is released and they're starting on the next one, he'll probably be close to 45. They wouldn't get enough films out of him before having to move on to another actor.

Have absolutely no objections to a black Bond though. At least, so long as the actor is of a high enough quality to warrant it (like Elba would have been) and they're not just hiring a black actor for the sake of it.

TheDoc

Being "too old" is a ridiculous assumption to make, without knowing where the story will go after Spectre.

If it's going down the route of continuation then it would obviously make sense to have someone of similar age to carry it on.

If it's going to go through some reboot, or prequel style thing then sure someone younger. As mentioned above, most of the Bond cast were in their late thirties or mid forties before taking up the role. And I'm not sure to be honest what age has to do with it, considering how easily Hollywood cast people in roles to play younger or older characters.

Personally wouldn't like Ibra if it's some ridiculous PC stunt to incorporate a black bond to placate sillyness from some quarters. If the Spectre story evolves and finishes in a way that opens the path for an entirely new character to continue the Bond mantle, then that is fine. But if it's the same "character" who just turns up in the next film black, that would be pretty outragous.

Some good fan theory as to how it could be handled, I especially like the idea that "James Bond" is actually another handle and alias, that is given to the exceptional trainee from the group of trainee orphans. There was a nice fan idea of the next "Bond" being allocated his new alias, and being greeted by M, accompanied by the other Bonds down through the years, with the actual original cast members coming in for a quick cameo. A sort of "Welcome to the club" moment, sounded nice.

Penn

TheDoc wrote: »

Some good fan theory as to how it could be handled, I especially like the idea that "James Bond" is actually another handle and alias, that is given to the exceptional trainee from the group of trainee orphans. There was a nice fan idea of the next "Bond" being allocated his new alias, and being greeted by M, accompanied by the other Bonds down through the years, with the actual original cast members coming in for a quick cameo. A sort of "Welcome to the club" moment, sounded nice.

I much preferred the theory of James Bond being an alias, however given that Bond returned to his homeplace in Skyfall and his parents' graves showed their real surnames as being Bond, that theory is likely dead in the water.

Wedwood

Bond of the 50s/60s was a very different place, where those in influential and powerful positions were invariably white.

Bond in the early 21st Century is a very different place, where colour does not determine to the same extent the position you can hold.

Fleming disliked the casting of 'Scottish Connery', because he wasn't 'English English'. After he saw Connery on screen, he retrofitted Bond with a Scottish heritage to match the actor playing him, I'm sure they can do the same again if needs be.

Personally, I think Elba looks like he has the right stuff to be a good Bond, it's just he'll be almost 50 assuming Craig does one more after Spectre. That's a bit old to start your tenure as Bond, Roger Moore had three movies under his belt by the time he hit 50.

BuilderPlumber

Wedwood wrote: »

Bond of the 50s/60s was a very different place, where those in influential and powerful positions were invariably white.

Bond in the early 21st Century is a very different place, where colour does not determine to the same extent the position you can hold.

Fleming disliked the casting of 'Scottish Connery', because he wasn't 'English English'. After he saw Connery on screen, he retrofitted Bond with a Scottish heritage to match the actor playing him, I'm sure they can do the same again if needs be.

Personally, I think Elba looks like he has the right stuff to be a good Bond, it's just he'll be almost 50 assuming Craig does one more after Spectre. That's a bit old to start your tenure as Bond, Roger Moore had three movies under his belt by the time he hit 50.

Interesting about how times and attitudes change. Bond's original character was more or less a romanticised version of Ian Fleming himself. His intentions was to have him as an English born secret agent who has a long and distinguished naval career. Now, when Fleming saw Connery, he went from he not being 'English enough' to seeing how good he and how successful the films were. He gave Bond a Scottish heritage then (which again is not all that far from Fleming himself, whose grandfather was Scottish.

Elba would do well as Bond. Maybe if he was to do so, it would be another reboot of the series?

The first set of films tended to be a continuous set of interdependent films mostly with Connery apart from 1 with Lazenby and against SPECTRE/Blofeld. We also can assume that Moore's Bond is the same character as there is a reference to Bond's dead wife in 2 of his films. Likewise, we can also say the same for Dalton's Bond as the same is mentioned in Licence to Kill. With Brosnan, it was harder to tell. There was no direct mention to the predecessors in any of them as far as I recall but the assumption is he was the same character. An ageless, timeless character at this stage it would seem?

Craig's films were the first and so far only reboot in the official series. Never Say Never Again presumably was also another Bond.

expectationlost

remember black don't crack, as long as his joints held up he'd be ok

charlie_says

What about Kevin McKidd for Bond?

Just a thought.

loyatemu

charlie_says wrote: »

What about Kevin McKidd for Bond?

Just a thought.

just googled him - ha! its Tommy from Trainspotting. He's only a year younger than Elba though.

Penn

charlie_says wrote: »

What about Kevin McKidd for Bond?

Just a thought.

Yeah but, he's not "English English"

Iranoutofideas

Ed Milliband wants a female Bond.

Should she be a Black? A lesbian perhaps?

Time wll tell.

Chevolution

Like others said, Elba is too old and I don't think they'll go with a black actor. I always thought Henry Cavill would make a good bond.

Brief_Lives

Julian McMahon... the Aussie from Nip/Tuck and the Fantastic Four movie, would have made a great James Bond...
Too old now...

Bipolar Joe

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

Ed Milliband wants a female Bond.

Should she be a Black? A lesbian perhaps?

Time wll tell.

How about Gina Yashere? She's black, and if you don't like the idea, you're a racist, misogynist asshole who needs to check his privilege.