Several names with ties to the franchise both loose and strong have felt the need to weigh in on the James Bond diversity debate, and the overall consensus is that a woman won’t be playing the title role at any point in the near future, which is a moot point when the producers behind the iconic spy saga have already made that abundantly clear.
However, an actor of color isn’t off the table by any stretch, nor should it be. Long-running favorite Idris Elba may have admitted that the backlash to the mere suggestion of him playing the legendary secret agent left a sour taste in his mouth, but you’d hope a series that’s prided itself on moving with the times for the last 60 years isn’t going to let a few trolls get in the way of selecting the best candidate for the role.
One such contender to have gathered plenty of backing in online circles is Gangs of London and The Lazarus Project‘s Paapa Essiedu, but when he was confronted head-on with the James Bond question in an interview with The Times, he refused to get drawn into the diversity debate.
“Do you want to base it on whether James Bond is going to be black . . . or south Asian or east Asian? Does that mean that diversity is going the right way if the profits end in the pockets of the same people? It’s too multilayered a test study, so it’s not a question I can answer or really want to answer.”
He did also make a point of asking “how many people have turned down James Bond?,” so he’s not exactly ruling himself out, either. It may not be until next year that we find out the identity of the next iteration, so the discourse will inevitably carry on for a while yet.
Published: Aug 4, 2023 01:24 am