This post was prompted by the upcoming release of the new Bond film Spectre.. and a debate that was raging a while back about casting a man of color as Bond in the future. The two names that have been bandied about most are Chiwitel Edjiofor, best known more recently for his role as Solomon Northrop in 12 Years a Slave.. but many here will remember him as The Operative from Serenity, or from Inside Man or Salt...... The other name is Idris Elba.. who has a slew of credits under his belt from the British detective series Luther... to Heimdall in Thor and Daddy's Girls... and a bunch of other stuff..

I have a great deal of respect for both actors.. as actors.. and as men of color who are successful at their craft (bear with me.. I come from a generation where seeing Julia, Alexander Scott and Lt. Uhura was a big thing to see because it was rarely seen at the time.. and it is easy to take it for granted 50+ years later..). These two names have been bandied about for playing Bond for some time now.. and while as I said.. I have the utmost admiration for both actors.. but I do not think that either of them should ever be cast as James Bond. I have no doubt that they could do the job and do it quite well... I just think that there are certain iconic roles that should always remain true to the original character and Bond is one of them. For me it would be like casting Morgan Freeman as Sherlock Holmes.. He could do it... no doubt.. but it would not be Sherlock Holmes.. One of the biggest film disappointments I ever had was The Wild Wild West with Will Smith as Jim West. That show was a great show in it's day .. and Warner Brothers could have made a killing with the series if they had just cast the film properly and made it more serious and less of a joke.. but as it was it was just absolutely horrible as a film (granted they got their money back b ig time but it could have been even better..). So my beef with the Bond thing has nothin g to do with the actors but with iconic roles being out of context... It would be like a blonde Wonder Woman.. or casting Rick Yune as Jason Bourne.. I think that even as far as appearance casting is important.. There is a film out right now about Nina Simone called Nina.. with Zoe Saldana cast as Nina Simone... I have absolutely no desire to see this movie.. and she could probably do it.. but the casting is all wrong.. completely.. and in this case it is even worse because it is a historic figure.. and there is a dynamic with Nina Simone that was very wrapped up oin her appearance that gets lost with casting Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone..

What do you guys think about that? The Bond thing.. and casting iconic roles.. It actually worked in the case of BSG where Boomer and Starbuck were cast as females.. but those characters are no where near as iconic as Bond...

Idris Elba would be perfect for a new Bond. He has played many iconic rolls already with
Pacific Rim and the Halo movie. He would have to buff up to get the roll, but I have no
doubts he could do it.

Iconic roles should not be tampered with is my opinion. Hence why I refuse to watch the remake of "True Grit".

You missed a great movie in my opinion.

Bond is a white man.

You can't cast an African or African American or Asian or Hispanic to play Bond just if the situation was reversed, you wouldn't cast a white man to play MLK Jr. or cast a Hispanic to play Confucius.

Too many people are putting Political Correctness above common sense.

Furthermore, whoever plays Bond after Craig leaves, another requirement for him besides being white is he has to British or from one of the British Coommonwealth former territory.

That is why Lazenby was okay to play Bond: he was Australian and spent a part of his life in London.

There was a time Burt Reynolds was considered (by the producers) to play Bond and that would never have work.

Burt was smart enough to tell the producers that the actor had to be British.

Same for Clint Eastwood who was also considered to be Bond.

Since we are on the subject of Bond:

Are we going to have the famous trademark Gun Barrel Opening Sequence this time or do they do away with it for good?

I have no doubt he could do it either.. but that is not my question.. and his acting chops are not why I have a problem with it.. This is Bond... a role that has been very well established for 24 other films.. I am one of those folks who sees this more as a marketing gimmick.. and as I said.. I just believe that certain characters should not have their roots tampered with..



That is not the same thing.... A remake of a film with the actors in the same light as the original I have no problem with.. and you did miss a great movie.. This is different though.. This is Bond.. and Bond has a history.. I copuld even see them doing this with certain peripheral roles.. like say Moneypenny.. or Felix Lieter.. but not the main character.

I saw the original, it was great IMO so I haven't missed a thing.


You want to know what really pissed me off to the point I won't watch the re-make? Bridges appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno promoting the movie, up to that point I was open to seeing it, but then they talk about this movie as if it have never been done before. Not one word about "it was an iconic role for John Wayne and I enjoyed the opportunity to have a chance at playing his character" or anything of that sort. See any interview of anyone from the JJ Abrams Trek movies and each and every one of those actors will page homage to Shatner, Nimoy, Kelly, Doohan etc. But not Jeff Bridges. I decided then and there that I would never watch it.

I hear ya.. but it was pretty good..

Exactly.. That is my point... and again.. I am a fan of both actors.. I would love to see a Luther film.. or even a new film with either of them cast in an action role.. but not as James Bond.. You know that gun barrle scene in the beginning... I just got that about two films ago..

I think Craig is the number two Bond.. after Connery of course.. and then Brosnan.. I never liked Roger Moore as Bond.. he just wasn't lethal enough.. and when he became Bond was when I stopped catching Bond Movies on opening day..

Moore did have 2 good films: The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only.

I liked Dalton and too bad the movie rights of the franchise were tied up in court for 6 years after Dalton starred in Licence To Kill,

By the time Goldeneye came around and Dalton was offered the chance to star in his 3rd Bond film, he himself considered himself too old for the role.

Brosnan, IMO, only had 2 good films: Goldeneye which was originally scripted for Dalton, and Tomorrow Never Dies.

I thought Bond was written as a Scottsman, and his being a bit of an outsider in the English establishment of MI6, was a subtle part of his character.

One thing I like about Daniel Craig's portrayal is that he is not so "clubby" and "one of us" (aka English upper class) like Roger Moore and Tim Dalton's portrayals were. Its subtle, but Flemming's Bond was very much a man apart. But yet not a foreigner. Well raised, but not quite well bread.

Yeah I get that too.. The other thing I like about Craig's Bond.. is that he looks lethal.. he looks like a killer..

Except for those Mad Magazine guy ears he has.

I was all for this when they were last looking for Bond

Clive Owen always gave me the impression he is a hired guard dog.

Not to you as you don't see Wayne as Rooster Cogburn as an iconic role, but I do. I'm just using my example, which is iconic to me, to agree with you on your example, Bond, which you find iconic. "Iconic" in some/many cases is in the eye of the beholder. And I think most everyone would agree that Bond is an iconic character.

I have never thought Clive Owen would make a good Bond.
I think he is OK, but basically overrated.

The first ever James Bond was played by a American actor(don't recall his name now) in a early American TV or Radio Drama of Casino Royal, Ian Fleming wanted Jeremy Brett,who later played Sherlock Holmes(the best ever Sherlock IMHO) to play Bond in the first movie Doctor No.

@tony draper:

Barry Nelson.