I agree that age is a factor against Idris but you’ll note that this wasn’t the reason given by @richieh_10 in response.
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I did notice that - it is merely my opinion that age is an issue now. Had they picked him back in 10-15 years ago I think he would have made a fnatastic Bond.
Yeah but that watch fires bullets… who would want to ruin a good suit! :0)
I was really disappointed with it. It looked pretty, but there were just way too many key plot points left undeveloped. And I dont say that as a fan of the book wanting to see my favorite bits given focus, but as a relatively uninformed viewer who just wanted to see a coherent tied together narrative. It’s 2 and a half hours and I don’t think there was a single plot element they actually fleshed out.
I think the reality is, it is simply not film material. Its too deep and rich to fit into the time you can afford a film, unless you’re going to commit 10+ hours to in an epic trilogy the way Jackson did with LotR.
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I think this is exactly what Villeneuve is trying to do. I remember feeling a bit underwhelmed by the first LotR movie for the exact same reasons that made you feel disappointed with Dune. I tend to look at LotR as one nine or ten hour movie now and I’m very fond of it. I hope I’ll be able to look at Dune trilogy/quadrilogy in exactly the same way one day.
That said, I liked the first movie very much - probably the only flaw from my point of view is that it ends too soon because it spends much more time building the world rather than characters. Who knows if we’ll see a 3+ hours director’s cut one day (though Villeneuve was adamant that this version is the definitive one).
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Maybe to your point, this from USA Today, arguing the 1984 film was at least an entire plot. Though I have to say, if it really is a better film than today’s, which I haven’t seen, that would be damning praise as Lynch’s Dune is one of the worst films I ever watched inside a theater.
Personally I don’t think age is an issue with bond. I don’t think any bond film has referenced a time that it was set in and the viewer just assumes that it’s set in present day. - maybe some of the older ones may reference certain wars etc so I would really rule anybody out on that point.
However for me, a character that was created by somebody and described as white man, should be played by a white man. I hope I’m wrong but I get the feeling that people saying that I focused on skin colour rather than age are trying to insinuate something which just isn’t there.
If a book was written about a character who is clearly described as a black man and they made a film about it - my view would be that the actor playing that character should be a black man.
It’s as simple as that.
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James Bond is fictional though and his ethnicity has very little relevance to his character, in the same way that his hair colour and eye colour are irrelevant.
His age, nationality, and gender are relevant.
I can’t think of a single Bond story where his skin colour is even a reference point for the plot or dialogue.
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One of the relevant bits of character development about him is that he is aristocratic. He doesnt really need to work, and the spy game is almost a way for him to get his kicks as much as it is a profession. It’s difficult to write that character in the UK as anything other than a white guy, although I dont know its ever really been a relevant part of any of the films, except for maybe Skyfall.
We’ve been a multicultural society for long enough now though that such a back story is no longer a limitation on what ethnicity he could be. I’d love to see a Arab bond, the descendant of a family who moved their wealth into the UK after WWI.
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I know it was written as 2 films, but based on how undeveloped the first one was, it just doesn’t seem like it was enough. But even when it is being written as a series of films each one has to stand up on its own. I felt each LotR did that, but I accept others who came to without having read the books multiple times already may not feel the same.
I don’t think age has any influence in that respect, it’s not an issue of what era Bond is set, it’s being realistic about how many years it takes to create 3 or 4 movies and how worthwhile it is starting with someone who is 49 now and will be in their 50s by the time the next movie is has started filming.
I would have liked to have seen Idris Elba as Bond when Daniel Craig was given the role, but at this point I wouldn’t want to see him starting now and still in the role pushing 60 or older when he gets to his 3rd movie.
I think it should definitely be a British actor but his ethnicity should have no impact at this point. Much more important is how good he looks in a suit.
Your reasons for casting are your own, but it isn’t a compelling reason by any means as said above it has no impact on the role or character itself. It may not be your intention to come across as being racist, but in today’s society, I don’t think that reason coming from the production studio would hold much water if/when the same accusations were made toward them if they continued to only cast caucasians in the role.
I think the problem is when you start coming away from how the character was originally described you open it up to being completely changed.
Who is to say in the future that we won’t have a black bond, a female bond, a homosexual bond, an Arab bond, a transexual bond, an American bond and bond that doesn’t speak English, a bond who is gender neutral etc etc
People will say that list is ridiculous but my point is just stick with how the character was originally described.
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Plus in bond there are loads of recurring characters - it would just look stupid to have Q talking to a non white James Bond and just carrying in as though they’ve known each other for years, when bond was white and then changed to black/Arabic/female etc etc
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They frequently reference the fact that Bond has been played by other actors. It’s bit of a running gag. Q explicitly referring to “the other guy” at one point.
Nobody asked Craig’s Bond why he’d dyed his hair but on your criteria, he wouldn’t have even got the gig. Which would have been a massive shame given he’s been arguably the best of them all in the role.
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M has been played by a woman and Felix has been played by a black guy. Not sure anybody thought it looked stupid having a white guy talking to them.
Changing Bond to a woman probably inherently changes his character and I agree that if people want a ‘female Bond’ they should create a new character, preferably written and directed by a woman who actually understands being a woman.
Even being gay probably doesn’t change him too much other than there would be Bond boys instead of Bond girls. I’m not convinced they would ever go in that direction though.
But the colour of his skin would have no impact. I understand he didn’t even orignally have Scottish ancestry but that was added after the fact of Connory doing a bang up job in the role.
The creator may have been a bit of a racist back in the day, but that doesn’t mean the people who make these movies now have to be.
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I always thought it was the 007 number that was never retired. So any new Bond would still be referred to it immaterial of race or creed…
Like we now call Keita our Number 8 when anyone with a pair of eyes in their head can see he ain’t and never will be, a Stevie Gerard.!
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Timothy Dalton for me was the best Bond, the Bond who was closest to the books.
If you take the Dr Who approach. When one 007 dies, another takes his place. Bond could be anyone British. Perhaps that’s the natural evolution. They have done the whole Bond “your a relic from another time” to death. That line has been used for decades. It’s now cliché. It’s like a cop saying he had just one day till retirement.
I would like to see them reboot it entirely. A Bond origin story. Special ops/becoming a spy. I guess like Kingsman but more gritty.
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Ye but if we started Calling our number 8 Steven Gerrard then it would be weird.
If you want to kill off Bond ( which would be fucking awful idea) and have a new 007 that can basically start from scratch then fine. (Terrible but whatever)
But James Bond is a white guy - just leave him that way.
Jodie Turner-Smith should be the next Bond IMO.
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Don’t get me started 
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