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.
“Duke hated it so much he did the film drunk. “
i thought he actively lobbied for the lead role of Genghis Khan in The Conqueror. While the script was originally written for Marlon Brando, who backed out, Wayne insisted on taking the part as a chance to do “something different” from his typical Western film.
Director Dick Powell initially tried to discourage Wayne from taking the part, but eventually gave in to the actor’s strong insistence
Wayne famously noted that the script read like a cowboy movie, so he decided to simply play the historic Mongolian warlord exactly like one
Bond is Bond. Don't try to make it into a female Bond, a gay Bond, a black Bond... If that's what they want then create their own character and see how the market accepts it.
But if they want a secret agent franchise that has room for expansion, then try the M:I franchise.
That's what I was saying.
-PJ
That’s news to me! Maybe true!
It’s a stinker of a movie. His other very forgettable film even if its closer to his normal roles is Jet Pilot. It has great airborne scenes with F86 jets connected by boring (So boring they had to be purposely written that way!) scenes with him interacting with a good looking blonde babe. She’s supposed to be a defecting Soviet pilot.
In summary: Airborne scenes are great! Anything with people in it is bad!
I do like the Bond books, but wouldn’t you say that the books are just different from the movies? they have a darker, more serious tone - not quite Le Carre, but serious.
The movies are, by definition different.
Not everyone can be a Peter Jackson :)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049092/trivia/?item=tr0713839
In The Hollywood Hall of Shame, John Wayne visited Dick Powell’s office in 1953 to discuss scripts for the final film of his three-picture deal with RKO. Powell stepped out of the office for a few minutes. . When he returned, he found Wayne holding a script that Powell had literally thrown into the wastebasket. It was the script for The Conqueror, which had been written for Marlon Brando. Wayne aggressively insisted that this was the movie he wanted to make
Powell explicitly tried to talk Wayne out of it, knowing the script was a poor fit for a cowboy star. Wayne refused to back down, leveraging his immense star power to force RKO to greenlight the project. Powell later famously justified giving in by asking, “Who am I to turn down John Wayne?”
He treated the job seriously - but he was miscast and HE didn’t realize it until after the movie released and was panned
It was the script for The Conqueror, which had been written for Marlon Brando. Wayne aggressively insisted that this was the movie he wanted to make
That movie ended up killing John Wayne, as well as several other actors, because it was filmed in Nevada after some nuclear tests, and they subsequently got Cancer.
So much for hating it and playing it drunk myth!
CREATE A NEW CHARACTER!!!
You're allowed to do that ...
I was a kid when I saw it. At that time in my life I preferred airplanes to girls.
I did read your point, however I don’t see an Idris Elba Bond as ‘woke’. Let me explain why —
What are the characteristics of James Bond?
- In the books:
- Hoagy Carmichael with a cruel mouth and scar
- heavy chainsmoker
- frequently questioning himself about his kills
- cruel and ruthless
- few gadgets besides his firearms
- English to a fault
the movies:
- Suave and full of charisma
- Gadget geek
- Uses women, and is charming
- British as a Devonshire tea
Idris Elba is suave, charismatic, very English (except for his skin color), charming and good looking.
Look at how Bond - whether Connery, Moore, Dalton treat the women - not PC - Bond is to be like that.
A female Bond or a gay Bond won’t work for the above reasons. But a black or Asian Bond - if he is suave, debonair, charismatic, very British in mannerisms and accent, and ‘uses’ women - that works.
Was dreck. But it was dreck in its own right. It was changed sufficiently in setting and characterization that it was a different play/movie.
In the original Ian Fleming novels, Bond is the son of a Scottish father and a Swiss mother.
I agree with that. Elba would be a good pick. But Bond was not black. They could create another agent to be like Bond except he is black.
I have enjoyed his role on Apple TV in Hijack.
Just make him 008 and a new agent.
James Bond was a product of the Cold War. He’s been dead for a long time.
They should just have a totally new character/different name.
It is so easy as that would solve the issue. There would be no one to accuse of racism if they did that. So it is a no go.
Bond isn’t black PERIOD FULL STOP
He currently isn’t, but he is a fictional character whose characteristics are: British, manly, good looking, suave, charming, ruthless and can be cruel.
Idris Elba ticks all of those boxes.
Tom Holland (the Spiderman actor) is white British, but he would not be a good Bond
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