I like the idea of Black James Bond. Idris Elba, anyone?

Cafe Society
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I knew the UK was pretty lily white , but I didn’t realize how lily white. CIA factbook has the UK as White 87.2%, Black/African/Caribbean/black British 3%, Asian/Asian British: Indian 2.3%, Asian/Asian British: Pakistani 1.9%, mixed 2%, other 3.7% (2011 est.)
From watching UK shows, I would say Asians were well over represented.

The US is White 61.6%, Black or African American 12.4%, Asian 6%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1.1%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.2%, other 8.4%, two or more races 10.2% (2020 est.)

Whatever way they go with Bond, I think they have to go much younger. Putting another 50+ year old playing him is just stretching the limits too far. I would guess the small of BenGay probably isn’t too attractive to the 20-30 year old women he chases after. Better to shoot for 30-35. If he has to be Bond rather than a new character, having him still learning the ropes would be a good reboot.

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Wait, Cap’s military was segregated in the MCU? I distinctly remember the scene where Cap brings back the POWs he rescued and there were black soldiers amongst those cheering them on.

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no Latinx?

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That’s really only a language grouping. Racially, they can be Amerind, Black, White, Asian or others.

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I don’t specifically remember those details from the film. But the actual US Army was segregated during WWII and it was a major plot theme in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

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I like the idea of casting Page or Patel; I think either could be quite good Bonds. I’m not crazy about Hiddleston in the role, but I could see it happening.

Huh?

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Typo. I meant smell of BenGay , as in he’s too old. They need to think 25-30 years younger if they want to restart the franchise.

Then again, this is the same fan base that accepts anyone as James Bond.

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This may be a bit off-topic, but I’ve had a concept for the Bond franchise for a while now and I’d love to get feedback.

EXPAND THE BOND FRANCHISE BEYOND JAMES BOND

This is, in effect, creating a James Bond expanded universe.

I truly feel that few people can even nail down Bond as a character anymore — everyone gravitates to the characterization and actor that they grew up with. The character of Bond has morphed so many times from the novel to Connery to Moore to Dalton to Brosnan to Craig that there is little intact of the character except his name, nationality and profession.

Not only have the actors created different characters, but the nature and technology of spycraft has changed so much from the Cold War years to modern-day.

Of course, we are all familiar with the fan theory that each actor is a different agent assuming the mantle of “James Bond” but not only does Roger Moore’s Bond visiting the grave of George Lazenby’s Bond’s wife’s grave make that theory make no sense, but it also ignores all the other actors who have played the same roles, such as Felix Leiter and Blofeld. Clearly, maintaining a series through these various ages (and those to come) make having a single agent a flawed concept.

So why even bother?

Why limit ourselves to a single hero? Imagine if DC had stopped with Superman. Or Marvel stopped with Captain America? If Star Trek had stopped with James T. Kirk? Surely there are more interesting characters the franchise could support in addition to the original James Bond? Some more brutal, some more anodyne, some more roguish — and more importantly, women and persons of color could be cast in this universe without force-fitting them into a character born out of the escapist fantasies of an aging 1950s white male from the UK.

MY PROPOSAL: Two-pronged approach pairing a streaming series with cinematic releases, all taking place in the same universe.

STREAMING SERIES

A series focusing on James Bond himself set in the early-50s to early-60s period they were written — faithful to the original novels. This is James Bond-meets-Mad Men. This Bond is a creature of his time: heavy drinker and smoker and sexist and yes: a bit un-PC. Fleming wrote Bond to be far from perfect (especially to our modern and more enlightened sensibilities). Lean into that. Also: the adventures from the novels are nowhere near as blockbuster-y as the movies. Again: lean into that. This is a Bond audiences have not seen. One that is authentic to the source material. This is more of a slow-burn, suspense drama approach more tailored to episodic television. Each season would incorporate approximately two books of content, which would run for 6-7 seasons in total.

CINEMATIC RELEASES

These could not only feature modern spy stories featuring modern agents continuing Bond’s legacy — effectively being the explosive blockbusters on par with Ethan Hunt and/or Jason Bourne. But also: they could create period pieces with other agents from the intervening late 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. Hell, maybe each decade showcases a different agent. If I recall correctly, Fleming’s novels made a point of stating that 00 agents don’t have long careers. With multiple lead characters from different eras, the stakes could be instantly raised for each movie — we can legitimately be concerned for the survival of our hero because we know that THEY COULD DIE IN ANY MOVIE! And just think of the tonal difference we could bring to the films. Different directors could bring their stamp without having to plug into the Bond movie formula. And best of all, this approach is future-proofed. We’re not reliant on any single character or actor or tone or style.

What do you think?

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Yes, please!

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Works for me.

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It depends. If we take the idea that Jame Bond 007 is a title, a nom de plume, like they did in the 1967 Casino Royale fiim, then sure.

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I like your thinking.

Or how about we combine the two ideas? We could have something like The Crown where we follow Bond through the decades, starting with his childhood in the late 20s/early 30s, through his early years in the WWII Secret Service, then becoming 00, and then his career as a spy in the field. But each season (or film? Not sure about that) would cover a specific time period where we can watch Bond develop as a person. Then starting in the 60s/70s they would move him to more of a desk job and feature more intrigue and less action, and eventually to retirement. In the meantime the show could develop supporting characters who take over as the lead 00s while Bond takes on a senior advisor/elder statesman sort of role. Maybe he even becomes head of MI5?

The show could go close to the present day, as Bond would have turned 80 in 2001, and we could wrap up the series with something about 9/11.

How about that?

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Could be, but he’d be leading MI6, not MI5: MI6 - Wikipedia

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Long time ago I had an idea…and apparently so did many others. That James Bonds are retired to a Prisoner-like island. The George Lazenby Bond escapes with the Sean Connery Bond, gives Sean a flower “For ‘her’ grave”…then George dies and Sean escapes to go on to be the villain of the movie.

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Current front runner:

Aaron Taylor Johnson

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Aaron Taylor Johnson, REM Uberlin

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I always kind of liked to think that Moore’s Bond was Lazenby’s Bond’s wife’s brother.

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What does the state of spycraft have to do with James Bond during or even after the Cold War? From what I can tell, Bond is pretty much pure fantasy and has little to nothing to do with anything resembling actual espionage in the real world.

I think at some point you’ve ridden a horse as far as its going to go. Prior to Craig, the last Bond movie I really enjoyed was Goldeneye. I didn’t care for Spectre at all, and the last movie was decent, but I was glad it ended the way it did. Maybe it’s just time to put Bond away?

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I’m sure there are some fans that would agree with you. But for the Broccoli family it is a gold mine. The last three movies alone grossed over $2.75 billion. It still has box office appeal.