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On the Idea of Idris Elba being James Bond

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We all know that everyone and their mums want Idris to play Bond, or at least wanted Idris to play Bond before the ravages of time caught up to him even though black don't crack.

But hey, at least the folks behind 007 like him for it

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2015/03/28/007-producers-idris-elba-would-make-a-great-james-bond

IGN's Roth Cornet was recently on the set of Spectre, where she and a group other journalists got a chance to speak with 007 producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. While the discussion was mostly centered around the new movie (more on that soon!), the producers were also (re-)asked about Elba's potential as the British secret agent.

"I think he'd make a great Bond," Wilson answered immediately.

"I always say, it's like asking a woman who's going up the aisle on her wedding day who her next husband is going to be," Broccoli added jokingly. "You know, Daniel Craig is Bond, and I don't want to think about what happens when he goes. But I'm a huge fan of Idris -- we all are. He's a great actor, and he could do anything. So ask me when we're looking for a new Bond -- which hopefully won't be for a long time."

As for how many more 007 movies Craig is contracted for, Wilson replied, "We want him for as long as he wants. That's the simple answer." Broccoli also noted that the actor's contract is "open-ended." (Craig is currently slated to play 007 through Bond 25.)

Specter hits theaters stateside on November 6. For even more 007 news -- including all things Spectre -- keep it here on IGN.

Idris as Bond has also been in the news since some paper tried to claim that Roger Moore said Elba isn't "English-English" enough for Bond, though he denies that:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/cel...-claiming-Idris-Elba-could-not-play-Bond.html

Sir Roger Moore has been forced to defend himself against allegations of racism after suggesting that Idris Elba could never play James Bond because he was not "English-English" enough.

The 87-year-old actor made the comments when asked about rumours that Elba could be the next 007 in an interview with Paris Match magazine.

He said: "A few years ago, I said that Cuba Gooding Jnr would make an excellent Bond, but it was a joke!

"Although James may have been played by a Scot, a Welshman and an Irishman, I think he should be 'English-English'. Nevertheless, it's an interesting idea, but unrealistic."

Sir Roger, who starred in seven Bond movies between 1973 and 1985, has claimed on Twitter that the comments were lost in translation.

The actor was subjected to a barage of criticism about the comments.

Many used social media sites to point out that Elba was born and raised in the East End of London and many branded Sir Roger racist.

Leaked Sony emails have suggested that Elba is being considered to succeed Daniel Craig in the Bond role and he is said to have had talks with producers.

Former 007 Pierce Brosnan has said he believed Elba would make a good Bond.

The actor, who starred as Stringer Bell in The Wire, would be the first black 007. He has admitted he would love the role.

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I'd be game for a trilogy of flicks with Idris Bond in his prime.

Both Amy Pascal (head of Sony before she got fired) and Pierce Brosnan like Idris for Bond too.

Though, we're getting at least one more Bond flick with Craig, so we'll see.
 
I'd be game for a trilogy of flicks with Idris Bond in his prime.

Both Amy Pascal (head of Sony before she got fired) and Pierce Brosnan like Idris for Bond too.

Though, we're getting at least one more Bond flick with Craig, so we'll see.

Idris will be pushing 50 if Craig does another Bond flick.
 
i must be missing something. elba is 42. there are action stars older than him still kicking around.

tom cruise is 52
liam neeson is 62

edit: yea i'm misunderstanding the OP
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
Craig's next and last Bond film is probably 3 years out, do they really want a Bond that old?

I wouldn't mind, he would be awesome as hell. Also, I would love the saltiness of some places of the internet.
 
Idris will be pushing 50 if Craig does another Bond flick.

And if he sticks around after his final contracted film, which is certainly a possibility, it gets worse. There's only a couple of years between Idris and Craig. I don't think they want another Moore on their hands where the dude already looks like he could be the leading lady's dad by the first film.

I think I'd prefer him as another double O, or maybe even the next M. He's got the chops to play a serious villain, so that's a possibility too.
 

harSon

Banned
And if he sticks around after his final contracted film, which is certainly a possibility, it gets worse. There's only a couple of years between Idris and Craig. I don't think they want another Moore on their hands where the dude already looks like he could be the leading lady's dad by the first film.

black don't crack bruh

They've got until his mid 50s before he starts showing signs of decay.
 
Make him 005 or Agent w/e and have him be Bonds buddy or someshit. Why make Bond black? Just make a new character and give him his own appeal.
 
Make him 005 or Agent w/e and have him be Bonds buddy or someshit. Why make Bond black? Just make a new character and give him his own appeal.

Why not? Bond's key quality is his swagger and borderline sociopathic personality, not whether he's black or white or Indian or Asian or whatever.
 

K' Dash

Member
After Connery, James Bond was dead to me, then came Craig and Revived it, I don't have any hopes for anything after the next Craig movie, but if Idris Elba plays Bond, I MIGHT watch it.
 
Make him 005 or Agent w/e and have him be Bonds buddy or someshit. Why make Bond black? Just make a new character and give him his own appeal.

Did you rage when they cast a blonde haired dude as Bond? What's the difference? Bond's traits are not tied to the color of his skin. His race is completely irrelevant to his character.
 
Did you rage when they cast a blonde haired dude as Bond?

Funny you mentioned that, I actually did! I was fuming when Craig got cast back in high school. I still don't really like him very much as Bond to this day. Not sure if he wound up dying his hair for the part but it's either brown or close to it in the films.

Arguably Craig is the most "different" looking Bond we've gotten thus far, something about the build of his face where the dude looks less gentlemanly and more brutish, rough around the edges.
 
Funny you mentioned that, I actually did! I was fuming when Craig got cast back in high school. I still don't really like him very much as Bond to this day. Not sure if he wound up dying his hair for the part but it's either brown or close to it in the films.

Arguably Craig is the most "different" looking Bond we've gotten thus far, something about the build of his face where the dude looks less gentlemanly and more brutish, rough around the edges.

Yeah, I agree. When I look at Daniel Craig, I don't see Bond. I see a random cronie going against Bond. Connery and Brosnan to me are the quintessential Bonds. I'd rate Craig as a C-rank tier Bond.

I would like Idris as bond though, it'd be a different take. And it'd be great to see people get angry.
 

Angel_DvA

Member
Idris Elba is an amazing actor and i'm sure he could be a great agent of the MI6 fighting the bad guy and everything but not as 007 though, just create an agent 008 and let him kick some ass on his own movie like Jeremy Renner in Bourne saga.

I think Craig was a bad choice at the time ( and still think he is ), totally changing the personality of James bond and not in a good way, I hope the next Bond will be more like Bond and not like Captain America...
 

potam

Banned
I'm not up on my Bond lore...but just say they reuse the 00-numbers, and all 007s have the James Bond cover name. Done. Black Bonds. Asian Bonds. Robo-Bonds.
 

Spaghetti

Member
the only problem with idris being bond

is that people will look at him as 'the black bond' for at least the first movie, and not just the next james bond

i'm happy to let craig ride it out a bit longer though. maybe with idris, eon productions will loosen their grasp over what bond actually is to allow for some formula changing.
 
They need someone in their late 20s to play Bond. 40+ is too old. If you can't make a bond movie once a year stop with making one ever few years... I was in high school when Casino Royale came out and I'm already a few years out of university.

Or make just single bond movies with different actors each time.
 

Cheebo

Banned
Idris will be pushing 50 if Craig does another Bond flick.

It's pretty much a done deal he is, skyfall made a billion and he has a 5th film contracted.

Spectre is out 2015. His last will be 2017-2018. Putting the first Bond film from the next actor around 2020-2021.
 

xandaca

Member
I'd rather have a white Bond. The only way it would make sense would be to reboot it, and I find reboots creatively lazy in just about any situation (including Casino Royale, even if the movie itself turned out well in spite of it), while just randomly transforming the same Bond from white to black would be disrespectful to the people who invest in that world/timeline as a credible cohesive entity. It would also mean more cretins coming out of the woodwork acting like codename theory is a valid thing, which would be the worst outcome of all. For the record, I also don't particularly think of Craig as Bond because he doesn't fit the image in my head. I think he's done some good work when the writing has been in his favour (Casino Royale especially) and the movies have on balance worked, but he's never been 100% Bond to me. Idris, or any other non-white actor, would probably be the same.

It's not really a big deal - if anything, what annoys me more are those clearly suggesting him for political reasons (the sort of person who suggests him for every high-profile white role regardless of suitability, and evidently because they can't think of any other black actors) - and despite myself I'd rather they do another reboot if it's going to happen, but don't really see why it needs to. As someone who came to the character from the books, a non-white/straight/male Bond goes against what the character represents. Admittedly, in the movies, he's more or less just been a generic English action hero who shoots people in a suit, so accept that for 99% of people, that's going to be a totally negligible point. Idris Elba certainly has charm and toughness in spades to make a great lead in any actioner, though will surely be too old by the time Craig's finished.

Michael Fassbender would be my first choice, though probably wouldn't do it. Same for Tom Hardy. Jim Sturgess could be interesting. Richard Madden could make it work. Jack O'Connell is a great actor, but I wonder if his thick Derby accent in public and working class persona would work against him. Common suggestions Dominic West, Clive Owen, Rufus Sewell, etc are all too old, most of the others too preened and pretty-boyish.
 

espher

Member
Did you rage when they cast a blonde haired dude as Bond?

I didn't rage, but I was annoyed. Same as I would be with Idris, or anyone else that didn't fit the 'traditional' Bond look, as Bond.

I mean, I'd get over it. I enjoy the Craig films, but a part of me is still irked by it. It's irrational to some extent, I know.

Whenever we get this sort of "same old character, fresh new gender/ethnicity/race", some part of me feels like it's writers/directors/producers/companies trying to tick a marketing box instead of doing it for what should be altruistic reasons, and that's why I'd rather see a push for establishing recurring brand new characters and tend to be more supportive of that. I don't ever get mad enough to complain or boycott or any of the stupid shit people do, but I do get annoyed.

Edit: Of course, I take it differently when it's an archetype role or a pseudonym or series of characters w/ the same name, and that's part of the reason why I got over it quickly w/ Bond. Movie Bond certainly looks more like Bond is a codename rather than Bond is supposed to be the /same/ Bond, and that's helped by the cadre of actors and eras.
 

Hatchtag

Banned
Idris Elba is a good pick if they keep Casino Royales tone, but I kinda feel like a more fun tone would be better for the next Bond, and Idris Elba seems just too serious for that.
 

Enron

Banned
I'd be down for an Idris Elba Bond. If Felix Leiter can be a black dude, so can Bond!

They need someone in their late 20s to play Bond. 40+ is too old. If you can't make a bond movie once a year stop with making one ever few years... I was in high school when Casino Royale came out and I'm already a few years out of university.

Or make just single bond movies with different actors each time.


I think a Bond in his 20s might be too young for the role.
 

Cheebo

Banned
He might really be outta here after Spectre, then. Huh.

I think he is talking about after Craig's contract of 5 films runs out. That they'd be happy to do more with him if he wanted. Craig is contracted for a 5th still so he is very likely to do that since it's up to EON for that one. Anything after that it comes down to if Craig wants to do more.
 
It would also mean more cretins coming out of the woodwork acting like codename theory is a valid thing, which would be the worst outcome of all.

Jesus.

Well, Craig can be picky after the 5th film. Craig is contracted for a 5th still so he is very likely to do that since it's up to EON for that one. Anything after that it comes down to if Craig wants to do more.

That quote sounds like "If he wants out, he can go."

Not to say there won't be a penalty assessed or whatever, but I've had the sense for awhile that EON would be fine with cutting this contract short and getting a new bond in there after Spectre (especially considering the leaked outlines for that film)
 

Cheebo

Banned
Jesus.



That quote sounds like "If he wants out, he can go."

Not to say there won't be a penalty assessed or whatever, but I've had the sense for awhile that EON would be fine with cutting this contract short and getting a new bond in there after Spectre (especially considering the leaked outlines for that film)
The follow-up makes it sound like they were refering to post-Bond 25 (Spectre being Bond 24) to me:
"Broccoli also noted that the actor's contract is "open-ended." (Craig is currently slated to play 007 through Bond 25.)"

Open-ended, as in could go past his contracted 5 if Daniel Craig wishes.

Skyfall made a billion dollars, far far more than any Bond ever came close to making before. If Spectre makes anything near that they are going to try to hold on to Daniel Craig for dear life because those sort of box-office rides don't come around often.
 

IISANDERII

Member
I would love Elba as Bond, it would make me interested in the film for the first time in decades. But just a side thought of him infiltrating a Russia makes me chuckle. "Hey who the hell's that black dude?" every 10min lol

Thankfully, even the talent free writers of a Skyfall can easily work around that.
 
"Broccoli also noted that the actor's contract is "open-ended." (Craig is currently slated to play 007 through Bond 25.)"

Open-ended, as in could go past his contracted 5 if Daniel Craig wishes.

Or Open-Ended as in "If you wanna bounce whenever, then bounce. Craig is currently slated to play 007 through Bond 25. As in that could change.

I mean, contracts are contracts, I know, but it does sound like him bailing early is more of a possibility than previously thought.

Isn't that happening soon with Black Panther? Not Idris and not Batman, but prep time Marvel Batman.

Yup, although he got bumped back once Marvel got Spidey. So Boseman will be kicking ass solo, but a little later than expected.
 
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