Could have a black James Bond next....

[Mich the Tester]

I don't think the casting would be due to inclusivity or PC. My concern is that the franchise is going to get increasingly chavved up to generate more product placement revenue. This to me is far more damaging than the colour of the guy's skin.

As soon as he starts wearing Burberry I'm out.

WHS

Anything but a chavved up Bond.

[xoggoth]

But with Bond, all we really know about the character is that it's an MI6 agent

If it was just any old secret agent but surely the essential point is that he is an iconic character where people have established perceptions. If we had a new Tom and Gerry where Gerry was a rabbit, people who remembered the original would be saying "That's not Tom and Gerry!" and they probably wouldn't watch it. Are they racist against rabbits? No, it's just that people have fond memories and associations and we shouldn't just treat them with distain, it creates resentment.

Society for most is whatever they grew up with. Trying to change it far too quickly by trampling roughshod over people's values and views is counter productive. Better to go slowly, in the end it works much better.

[Mich the Tester]

If it was just any old secret agent but surely the essential point is that he is an iconic character where people have established perceptions. If we had a new Tom and Gerry where Gerry was a rabbit, people who remembered the original would be saying "That's not Tom and Gerry!" and they probably wouldn't watch it. Are they racist against rabbits? No, it's just that people have fond memories and associations and we shouldn't just treat them with distain, it creates resentment.

Society for most is whatever they grew up with. Trying to change it far too quickly by trampling roughshod over people's values and views is counter productive. Better to go slowly, in the end it works much better.

Yep yep, but as you say, he is an iconic character; for me the 'character' aspect is more important than the colour of the bloke. There are plenty of black men that we would consider to be gentlemen, just as we've all met some we wouldn't see that way. I really think some people are getting hung up on something that's not really central to the character.

[Pondlife]

Every blokes favourite Bond, Connery, last did an official film over 40 years ago. Moore's last raised eyebrow was in 85. The cinema going audience is not who it originally was. I'd hazard that most who are watching in the cinema now won't remember past Brosnan. The target audience has changed hence the chavving up.

[Mich the Tester]

Every blokes favourite Bond, Connery, last did an official film over 40 years ago. Moore's last raised eyebrow was in 85. The cinema going audience is not who it originally was. I'd hazard that most who are watching in the cinema now won't remember past Brosnan. The target audience has changed hence the chavving up.

No chav Bond. Anything but chav. That fellow Idris Elba does not appear to me to be a chav, and none of the black people I know could be classed as 'chavs'. But maybe that's because I don't associate with chavs, so I don't meet any white chavs or any black chavs.

[escapeUK]

Every blokes favourite Bond, Connery, last did an official film over 40 years ago. Moore's last raised eyebrow was in 85. The cinema going audience is not who it originally was. I'd hazard that most who are watching in the cinema now won't remember past Brosnan. The target audience has changed hence the chavving up.

Dont be silly, everyone remembers them all as the films were always on the tv. The current one is my favourite as he seems more gritty and believable.

[Pondlife]

No chav Bond. Anything but chav. That fellow Idris Elba does not appear to me to be a chav, and none of the black people I know could be classed as 'chavs'. But maybe that's because I don't associate with chavs, so I don't meet any white chavs or any black chavs.

Agreed.

Before it was Astons & Omega watches... then BMW... then Sony... now Heineken. what next? Superdry? Bench?

[xoggoth]

won't remember past Brosnan

I remember David Niven. How come when people go on about Bond they never mention him?

[Mich the Tester]

I remember David Niven. How come when people go on about Bond they never mention him?

Showing your age there.

[original PM]

this depends if we are led to believe that the james bond we see now is (in fictional terms) the same James Bond who appeared in the first films then he cannot be black as people do not simply change from white to black or vice versa(No michael jackson jokes please).

However if James Bond is just psuedanym (sp?) for the agent whose code name is 007 then the colour of the skin matters not..