I love the James Bond movies, and even as they’ve grown more complex with Sam Mendes at the directorial helm there is an odd sense of familiarity that accompanies the womanizing protagonist’s adventures. Whether that be the theme song, cars, gadgets, or the infamous Bond girls, when you go to see a James Bond film you know what to expect.
With Daniel Craig’s tenure as the British super spy coming to an end, there has been much speculation as to who might wear the codename of “007” next, including names like Tom Hardy, and Idris Elba. In the 25 Bond films produced, seven actors have played Bond all to varying degrees of success. We have gone from the suave Connery Bond, to the shortlived Dalton era, then to the grandpa-style Roger Moore, and finally the video game-esque Brosnan. Craig has been a breath of fresh air as Bond, offering audiences a three dimensional look at the generally stoic killer. Unfortunately it is obvious his time is running out, and that of course leaves a chance for a new actor to take the slow moving franchise into the future with a completely different take.
But like the firestorm that surrounded Michael B Jordan with his portrayal of the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four controversy, the same surrounds Elba. I am all for continuity in pop culture, but I believe that continuity exists in the portrayal of a character, not the race of the actor portraying him. The controversy surrounding Elba came from current Bond novelist Anthony Horowitz when he explained that he found Elba to be “probably a bit too ‘street’ for Bond.” Horowitz backtracked on his comments saying, “I admit it was a poor choice of words and I am mortified to have caused offence.” I for one believe Elba would be a great choice as Bond. Based on his filmography Elba has played everything from a drug lord on The Wire to a Norse God in Thor. He’s been evil, crazy and everything in between. There is no doubting his acting chops, especially when it comes to a character involved in action roles (see his portrayal of Mumbles in RockNRolla, as well as Roque in Losers).
In Hollywood the belief is that change is good (so why do we get so many remakes?). This would be an amazing way to switch up the Bond franchise, as it would offer the ability to explore his backstory in depth, something that the other films have hardly done. However, in the meantime, while we wait for Spectre to arrive in theaters, instead of arguing on the internet with a bunch of thirteen-year-olds about a why a fictional character can and cannot change, we should take a page from the current James Bond regarding speculation. When asked about who should be the next James Bond, Daniel Craig told Vanity Fair, “look, I don’t give a fuck. Good luck to them! All I care about is that if I stop doing these things, we’ve left it in a good place, and people pick it up and make it better.” At the end of the day, it is not about skin color, it is about making quality films and there’s no reason why Idris Elba could not deliver as the wise-ass MI6 agent we all know and love.