Posted on 06/10/2026 1:06:51 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The recently knighted star has been linked to the role for a long time
Idris Elba has confirmed he will not be playing James Bond, saying that he felt some audiences wouldn’t “go for” a Black actor playing the role.
The award-winning actor, who has been the star of films including The Suicide Squad, Pacific Rim, and TV series The Wire, has been linked with the role for many years, with speculation building following the departure of Daniel Craig from the role in 2021. However, in a recent interview with British GQ, he discussed why he won’t be playing the part.
“I’ve always felt that it’s not a realistic thing,” he said. “James Bond was written how he was written for a reason. But I was complimented by it. And also, I think, in realistic terms, some markets just don’t go for that. Bond is big all over the world. And [audiences] won’t [all] go for a Black male, an African male, playing Bond. That’s not what they like in their culture. Period.”
Regarding whether 007 should change with the times, he remarked: “Bond is so unrealistic, so a hint of reality is good, but let’s not try and make it woke. I think you’ve got to be pure to what it is: escapism. Don’t try and answer the world’s taste. Just be Bond.”
The search for the new James Bond officially began last month, as casting begins for a lead for Denis Villeneuve’s new vision of the world’s most famous spy. It will be the first film since Amazon MGM Studios took over the creative direction of the character, and recently former Bond actor Léa Seydoux said she was “sad” that the company was in control of the franchise.
As for who is in contention for the part, reports emerged last month that You actor Tom Francis was auditioning for the role.
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Even the thought of making Bond black is so stupid to beggar belief. 50 years you got a winning formula and now you want to change it. Didn’t work for Coca Cola and it won’t work for Bond.
Bond is an Englishman, a little bit rough around the edges, but savvy. The only thing black about him is the black comma of hair that adorns his forehead.
“But I was complimented by it. And also, I think, in realistic terms, some markets just don’t go for that. Bond is big all over the world. And [audiences] won’t [all] go for a Black male, an African male, playing Bond. That’s not what they like in their culture. Period.” He must be in a different culture.
If they want a black Bond, why don’t they introduce them in a Bond movie as a different 00. Then they could do a spin with that character. He could be Bondesque without being Bond.
But you were okay with a Scot playing James Bond? That’s the opposite of an Englishman.
Bubblehead bebus is correct. Stop rewriting very successful narratives just to push woke agendas that always bankrupt them. Pathetic
No problem for me. I like Idris Elba.
The problem is Jeff Bezos owns Bond now. This is going just as Democrats envisioned when they allowed him to buy MGM (which is why Trump is trying to protect Warner Bros from Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, along with Obamaites).
I don’t much care about the James Bond movies, but if I did I don’t think I would care about a black Bond. If he’s a good actor and the script does not go in a DEI direction, I don’t see a huge problem.
Will Smith, for instance, did a great job with the action hero role.
Elba is English. Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan are not English.
Fleming described Bond in detail.
James Bond, according to Ian Fleming, is half Scottish, half Swiss.
The problem would not be the Black Actor. Especially if they used a top notch guy like Denzel as an Expat Bond.
The problem would be the Woke bastardization of the rest of the movie. At every step they would feed the opportunity. It would be an absolute wreck.
Folks are done with Woke.
They would have to, seeing that Bond died in the last one. I can’t see them traveling back in time to maintain 007. I think Elba would be good, he was good in Luther.
Why play the race card? In the books, Bond’s mother was Swiss and his father was Scottish. There’s plenty of room for him to play another agent in MI6 (003, etc).
I wonder if a white Shaft would go over well with audiences?
My vote is for Elliot (Ellen) Page to play 007 after she finishes her role as Achilles in The Odyssey.
Seriously, just make new spy movies with other OOs....
Shaft
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