A black 007?

[Syt]

I don't see a black Bond as something of an issue. There's black British actors who would fill this role pretty well.

I think the far, far bigger leap would be if he was a Brit with Indian or Pakistani background. Though a Sikh Bond would be badass, I guess.

[Richard Hakluyt]

I don't think it would be a problem provided that the film was set in current times. If it was set in the 1960s then it would either look odd or involve substantial recognition within the film.

Some black people and some people with Indian sub-continent backgrounds can be incredibly British btw, more than some of the whites. Bond's defensive, not quite pukka, poshness could be very well portrayed by the right Indian actor.

[Viking]

I'm just worried that what happened to Mission Impossible happens to James Bond. MI was a genre and the Movie went out of it's way to demolish everything about it. It because a generic action thriller with a name which had caché. You can make an action thriller and call it bond, but if you don't follow the genre then it won't be bond, it will just be an action movie. The genre rules mean that the viewers do know what to expect and thus are willing to pay because they want more of it.

Hasn't this already happened?

Some argue that I agree. I do see the Brosnan and Craig Bond's being within the genre though. Cruise' MI quickly wiped out any pretense of fitting genre in the first act of MI 1

[Josquius]

I don't think it would be a problem provided that the film was set in current times. If it was set in the 1960s then it would either look odd or involve substantial recognition within the film.

Some black people and some people with Indian sub-continent backgrounds can be incredibly British btw, more than some of the whites. Bond's defensive, not quite pukka, poshness could be very well portrayed by the right Indian actor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h-t8vVi0zc

[Viking]

I don't think it would be a problem provided that the film was set in current times. If it was set in the 1960s then it would either look odd or involve substantial recognition within the film.

Some black people and some people with Indian sub-continent backgrounds can be incredibly British btw, more than some of the whites. Bond's defensive, not quite pukka, poshness could be very well portrayed by the right Indian actor.

Though, I suspect that it will deal with the issue more like the BBC does ethnic minorities with ostensibly white characters; demonstrate that they live and work happily in a multicultural (meaning multiracial) world. Bond is going to get more black and asian colleagues, enemies and bond girls before going ethnic. I suspect a black or asian Q is more likely than a black bond.

[celedhring]

They already tried a black Bond, he was called xXx.

[Sheilbh]

Elba would be the best possible new Bond. I really hope he gets to do it. I think he'd actually develop/continue the whole vibe Bond's had under Craig (which was a more jarring shift than skin colour) which'd be good.

[Ideologue]

Hey, garbo, as a black man on black issues, what are your opinions of race blind casting in general?  Basically what I'm asking for is that you fully validate my opinions.

Sorry but what you posted seems backwards to me.

Actually to expand on that - I think racial based casting only makes sense if you are either a) trying to highlight the effects of racism in the work (so it wouldn't make sense to have white women playing the black roles in The Help) or you're trying to get at a culture/sub-culture where it would be awkward if you didn't pick someone of that race (like Tyler Perry films).

So I guess that kind of goes with what you said though I'd say something like Nick Fury doesn't fit as his original backstory has no role in the film and as such his race doesn't really matter.

It is a little off putting in a historical film.  If FDR is played by a Pakistani actor, it's a bit strange.  I would make an exception with a Shakespearean play,  when you pick someone to play Henry V, you aren't actually playing the historical king, you are playing character a from the play who is essentially a distinct character.

I liked it fine in Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, except they cast a white guy as Paris.  Paris' truncated role is about my only complaint with the film.  The whole point is that the violence could not be contained within the Montagues and Capulets, and thus "all are punish'd" equally, which doesn't work without Paris' death and his connection to the princely family.  So, you know, he should have looked like the Prince and Mercutio.

BTW fuck.  I just looked to see when exactly Luhrman's Gatsby was coming out this December so I could accurately state how many days it is till release.  Well, try about 180.

Maybe they're reshooting with a black Gatsby.  And maybe Leonardo DiCaprio should have played Django.  See, these being preposterous is what I mean when I say that race-blind casting has to approached very carefully.

[Brazen]

Surprisingly, I could totally see a black 007.  Just as long as he still has an english accent.

Why? Sean Connery didn't.

Idris Elba has the perfect public school English accent when he isn't playing a Bawmer drug kingpin.

As he said in an interview, "I wouldn't want to be known as the black James Bond, after all no-one calls Connery the Scottish James Bond."

No actors who have played him meet the description from the books, though perhaps Lazenby came closest. From Wiki:

In the novels (notably From Russia, with Love), Bond's physical description has generally been consistent: slim build; a three-inch long, thin vertical scar on his right cheek; blue-grey eyes; a "cruel" mouth; short, black hair, a comma of which falls on his forehead. Physically he is described as 183 centimetres (6 feet) in height and 76 kilograms (167 lb) in weight. After Casino Royale, Bond also had the faint scar of the Russian cyrillic letter "Ш" (SH) (for Shpion: "Spy") on the back of one of his hands, carved by a SMERSH agent.

Here's how Fleming sketched him:

[Syt]

So that'd be a young Peter Cushing?

[Brazen]

So that'd be a young Peter Cushing?

Fleming likens his appearance to musician Hoagy Carmichael's.

[garbon]

See, these being preposterous is what I mean when I say that race-blind casting has to approached very carefully.

I'm sorry for your racial hangups?

[Brazen]

You know what would be a refreshing change? A British actor who did not attend a private school or Oxbridge or make his name with a believable American accent achieving any sort of critical acclaim 

[garbon]

You know what would be a refreshing change? A British actor who did not attend a private school or Oxbridge or make his name with a believable American accent achieving any sort of critical acclaim 

That sounds like an issue for you Brits to sort out.

[Gups]

You know what would be a refreshing change? A British actor who did not attend a private school or Oxbridge or make his name with a believable American accent achieving any sort of critical acclaim 

Peter Capaldi
Simon Pegg
Sean Connery
Charlie Chaplin
Dick Bogarde
Brian Blessed


Dozens more, but I'm getting bored.