Time for black or gay 007, says Brosnan

Why not keep Bond Scottish Swiss white and create a NEW black super spy character and movie?

Have all the movie writers gone to bed? Get to work and quit being so lazy!

I don't see why it's necessary...

I'm as trendy-lefty-Christian as you could wish for. But James Bond is a white male. It's in the books. If you want a black, gay transvestite as a character, great!

But that's not James Bond any more.

James Bond is one of my favorite movie characters, and one of the few remaining alpha male role models in media today.

As a black American man...I'd prefer to see James Bond stay white. While I could understand the argument of "the best way to stop racism is to treat skin color as interchangeable", changing the character's ethnicity still reeks of the sort of PC multicultural BS that I despise.

That said....if there is any actor who could pull it off convincingly, it's Idris Elba. But I like Speed's suggestion of just creating a new character. Just make an Idris Elba superspy movie without all the 007/Q/M/MI6/etc. The Mission:Impossible and Jason Bourne franchises are proof that decently-executed spy movies with a good lead actor are successful.

As for a gay James Bond? No. Just.....no. What is Pierce smoking? He made one of my favorite Bond flicks (Goldeneye) but damn man, put the crack pipe down and don't ever utter craziness like this again.

The Bond template is fine. That's how Ian Fleming wrote the character and that's how it should stay.

If they really want to take Bond into the modern era, he should probably be an overweight bald guy who sits at his desk at GCHQ sifting through people's emails all day.

Time for black or gay 007, says Brosnan

No he didn't. He was asked a stupid question by a reporter and played with it a bit. He NEVER asserted it was "time" for anything.

This sort of careless, reckless, invented "reporting" is worthy of a sharp smack to the offending reporters. It should be law they get it.

MI6. They don't, as a rule, employ blacks, or haven't, as far as I know.

Not true. How do you think they infiltrate organizations in other parts of the world? So are you saying that the rest of the non-white world eagerly awaits some charismatic Brit into their organizations since they are the epitome of Western Civilization?

However, on the Bond issue, I don't want to see a Black or gay Bond, and I am Black. To pick one just because of the race or sexual orientation is wrong. Base it on the acting skills.

Add me as another person struck by the disconnect between title and article. Brosnan never in any way said 'time for black/gay 007', he said he could see it or would be okay with it. That's not even a subtle difference between the two, it's just a flat out lie.

I thought there already was a Gay James Bond in some of those movies. It sure was't Sean Connery, but some of those pretty boys who played Bond in the 70's were a little suspect.

I like the idea of a black Bond, but a gay Bond just doesn't work for me. He's a womanizer, which is fundamental to his character. Although I guess some people may say that being white is fundamental to his character as well.

Sean Connery was, is, and always shall be, the Essential James Bond. All those who came after have been rough approximations, and for the most part (though not always) they have worked. There's no need to fix something that isn't broke.

What other bright ideas will they come up with - a Middle-East Hercule Poirot who plays rap and looks like Conan the Barbarian? An Asian Miss Marple in 6-inch heels and a leather bustier? Scooby-Doo played by a Siamese cat?

If you want a gay, black, female, whatever, spy character, fine, write a script for him/her/it. It might make a pretty good film if you put the necessary effort into creating your character. But don't be lazy enough to adulterate someone else's creation and claim it's James Bond.

Instead of Golden Eye it will be Brown Eye? I don't think I am ready (or ever will be) to see 2 dudes going at it on the screen.

New term maybe coined something like "Bond boy", lol.

The next James Bond

Do we need a next one?

Don't mess with the successful template. But, like SPEED said, come up with a new series... One that is British, Black... and Gay. ... and just for giggles a weight-challenged midget. (boy, fearing the Moderator's deleted "message removal notice" I had to rewrite that several times).

What confined thinking... Let's make 007 an albino dwarf lesbian from Tel Aviv, who drives an armored Volkswagen.

You make a gay James Bond and I will not go see your movie. I don't want political correctness in my pop culture.

How about a balding, overweight, middle-aged Bond?

I'm your man!

Can you imagine a Black spy of British citizenship spying in Russia?

Can you imagine Daniel Craig infiltrating IS?

This is utterly ridiculous for two reasons:

There have been only 6 actors who have played James Bond over the 55-year span of the franchise. Only 6. How does any group of 6 people over 55 years necessitate "It's time for diversity!"? I honestly don't care at all whether they choose an actor who is white, black, or any other race, or any other background - I just find it completely ridiculous that anyone would be calling for it. Six people over 55 years is not repressive or biased or ethnocentric - it's absolutely reasonable when considering real-world demographics in the UK. This is unnecessary over-the-top political correctness gone too far. Did Pierce Brosnan even say this? The headline of the article says "Time for Black or Gay 007 Says Brosnan." That makes me think Brosnan stood up and demanded this. But then the article starts off by quoting him as saying "Sure, why not?" So, which is it? Did Brosnan actually call for it? Or did some journalist ask him about it, get an agreeable answer, and then completely exaggerate the headline to push the writer's own idea or feelings? Or is this just a cut-and-paste job from a more complete article somewhere else that makes these things unclear for the sake of argument?

No big deal.

If he'd said something utterly preposterous like it it's okay to have another Aussie as 007, I'd understand the indignation.

'How about a balding, overweight, middle-aged Bond?

I'm your man!'

Why not? A Lancashire Bond would be great. One of your innuendos could be asking Moneypenny if you could dip into her hot pot ;)

how about a white guy playing SHAFT?

Gay white guy, to cover the bases.

Who's the white private eye

That's a sex machine to all the guys?

(Shaft!)

By golly you're right!

THAT is why Sean Connery was the perfect Bond... he even had the Edinburgh accent.

They need Groundskeeper Willie to play him. And he's not afraid to get his kit off.

...he works for the British spy agency, MI6. They don't, as a rule, employ blacks, or haven't, as far as I know.

Sorry - that gave me a giggle! How would you know? They're all secret agents? If you don't know, they are doing their jobs well!

Of course the British security services employs black people, they have staff that represent all ethnicities, so I can't see why Bond can't be black. A Scots father and a Swiss mother? No problem, you can be black and British, Swiss or whatever. Idris Elba would be great n the role.

As for a gay Bond, I don't see that as a problem (MI6 have never been short of gay staff), but I don't see some countries being happy about it and screening the film.

Awesome. A whole new slew of super cheesy villain names like:

Bruno Sweetwood, Dick Ty, Jonny Rapid.

And of course, the dastardly duo from Ireland:

Ben Dove and Phillip McKracken.

Nothing against gay, but a gay 007 would be really not necessary. Think about us, watching James Bond because of the cool Bond girls!!!

A black 007 would be very cool though...

when asked if he could picture a gay Bond.

And there you have it. I remember a couple of articles "Daniel Craig calls for gay Bond" but if you read them, it was the same scenario. Craig was asked on live TV. Brosnan was also responding to a question, but you wouldn't know it from the title of the article. Not much choice, is there? You can imagine the protests etc if either Craig or Brosnan said that Bond should be straight. Pretty dishonest writing to ask him if he can 'picture' a gay Bond, the claim he says 'it's time'.

Time for a Japanese Bond...I'm available

There is an adage that goes "it it aint' broke dont' fix it" or "if it works, why change it" well this applies here.

There are topics in Japan Today that deserve to be ignored.

This is one of them.

For all those that say "we don't need another Bond movie"... you don't have to watch them.

Yes... Sean Connery was the best... but Daniel Craig is not that far off and he has made the Bond franchise watchable again I think. Whoever they choose as the next Bond has a lot to live up to.

Also... Mr. Brosnan didn't say "It's time for a black or gay Bond", he said he would be OK with it. That is a completely different statement. I don't think I could watch something with the formula changed so drastically. It's kind of like... an all female Ghostbusters. The new Ecto-1 looks like garbage too.

Haaa Nemui, so you're old school!

Yeah mostly... if new works then fine... but usually it doesn't.

Geeez, just leave things the way they are. If you want to add to the character, fine. Don't need to reinvent the wheel.

Why he need or such conditions? Why not just choose the best candidate? If he (or even she) happens to be black and/or gay, great! but don't limit it.

Or they could try just giving us a really good story.

I want either 1) Chinese Bond, or 2) Russian Bond or 3) Mexican Bond.

Will be hilarious as long as he spoke only in boken engrish. Russian bond will make for awesome double agent where Bond betrays MI6. guahahaha! Also hilarious.

This is ridiculous. James Bond is an established character and he is a white male womanizer. If you make him black or gay, he's no longer James Bond, he's another character entirely. There is more than enough room in fiction to add as many characters as diverse as can be without the need to go back and replace established characters.

I get the feeling that "diversity" is becoming a dog-whistle for "anti-white, anti-male". To the "diversity" crowd, adding new non-white, non-male characters is secondary to erasing white male characters, which seems to be their primary aim.

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-entertainment/corbyn-would-make-a-terrible-bond-says-pierce-brosnan-20150827101519 just as relevant

I recall people being aghast at the choice of Daniel Crag all those years ago - aghast over his hair colour!

Time for black or gay 007, says Brosnan

Wouldn't that be cultural, gender, and racial appropriation? No wait, we are discussing a white male character - forget about it.

Why not have a Japanese trans-sexual Bond? It is just as logical as what Pierce Brosperson says is possible.

Why only black or gay as choices? Why couldn't he be Asian? Or why not bisexual? Add in a bit of cross dressing (purely for the purposes of disguise) and we have a perfect bond for the modern era.

Why can't James Bond be black and gay? Why not cover all the bases and make him her transgender, disabled and Islamic at the same time? That would certainly cut down the casting call.

No one would watch...

I don't mind a Black james bond. . . It'd prob give the character a cooler, hipper vibe. Gay james bond, no way! Bond is notorious for macking with the beautiful women featured in each film, whether they be friend or foe. How would it look if a 007 movie had a "gay" scene?? No thankxs.

katsu78: I love watching internet fans throw fits over minor changes to beloved characters one day, then throwing fits the next because all our modern media ever seems to do is retell the same stories over and over. It seems the message is, "Give us an infinite number of stories involving our favorite archetypes that are always unique and entertaining but never, ever, ever change the character or make them so they don't look like (some of) us!"

Right! Because if we had a black Bond, just THINK of all the exciting new story lines that we could have!

I always thought that Pierce Bronsnan is Gay so already Done and that it tells the World that Blacks have never or will never have original Charactors in the Movies

Bond is a cold war relic. It's time to put the series to bed. I would have been happy if they'd finished the series at View to a Kill.

Yes... Sean Connery was the best...

Haaa Nemui, so you're old school!

If you want to kill the franchise.

Brosnan still sore about getting dumped.

What a nonsense. And how would a black or gay James Bond relate to all of the previous movies? It would be like making a completely different story, where only the name would suggest that the character has anything to do with James Bond.

How about a black female gay transgender bond? That should cover most of the PC bases.

From the negative votes I accrued, I can only conclude that some people hate dachshunds.

Brosnan doesn't seem to say 'Time for black or gay 007', rather he just says 'Why not?' when asked. That is quite different than what the title of the article implies.

Oh hell, why not a talking horse as the new Bond. Jeez, hard to believe a actor that played that role even suggested that nonsense.

I must be getting old...I thought 80's~90's pc was too much, but this 21st century version is over the top.

How about a mixed race, bisexual, polyamorous, plus-size and pacifist James Bond. I think Bond talking bad guys into being good guys would be a pleasant change.

A great example of PC out of control.

I don't see why (s)he shouldn't be a woman (i'm ok if lesbian). we have had a female M after all.

An Asian Bond would be cool... Ken Watanabe or Chow Yun Fat might be getting a bit long in the tooth for it these days but they've both got the charisma required for a role like Bond. But really... I think changing the formula just to please certain groups within society is wrong.

If they change name Hollywood to Devilwood let them do whatever they want...

It's not clear from the article whether Brosnan is suggesting a gay ACTOR play Bond, or they actually make Bond the character himself, gay.

I presume he must be referring to the former. If it's the latter, it'd be a different character.

Then again, I suppose you could have a subplot of Bond struggling with his inner self when contemplating whether or not to get down with Moneypenny...

Sure why not pushing the envelop a little, and it is time for new secret agent "007" aka "001" battling to save civilization!!!!

A gay Bond? It gives new meaning to being a "secret" agent. Does that mean we'll have Bond Boys? This whole idea is gay.

"Good bye Mr. Bond" "Blofeld you really should consider moisturising. I know a perfect one for your skin tone".

My favourite Bond was gay, in a movie called Same Bond(age). Actor was called Dick Steel.

How about a balding, overweight, middle-aged Bond?

LoL. Like Roger Moore with a beer-belly & going bck to Thailand to shoot Golden Gun. Better than a gay Bond.

i'm sure brosnan was just trying to be PC by saying that 007 could be black or gay. but surely after thinking about the character's background, he would answer "hell no!" you can't just upend an iconic character like that.

The next James Bond could be black or gay, argues 007 veteran Pierce Brosnan.

Why? Why do we have to tamper with classic literary characters just to be PC? Why is there any need to change the race, sex or sexuality of any existing character? If you want a gay secret agent... create one. Idris Elba would make a great secret agent, he certainly has the charisma and presence to carry it off... but Bond?

Ian Fleming’s original Bond novels say the secret agent was the son of a Scottish father and a Swiss mother and spent much of his early life outside Britain. Orphaned at 11, the fictional hero then lives with an aunt in southeast England and is educated in Edinburgh.

THAT is why Sean Connery was the perfect Bond... he even had the Edinburgh accent.

I love watching internet fans throw fits over minor changes to beloved characters one day, then throwing fits the next because all our modern media ever seems to do is retell the same stories over and over. It seems the message is, "Give us an infinite number of stories involving our favorite archetypes that are always unique and entertaining but never, ever, ever change the character or make them so they don't look like (some of) us!"

There are 8 other '00' numbers that can be used, we've seen a 006 make an appearance in Goldeneye so why can't they start a spin off franchise with a different '00' character?

My favorite James Bond, Mr Brosnan has wonderful sense of humour.

I would just like to see Bond go back to using his brain in plausible circumstances with plausible tech, even with the far out villains with far out tech still there. The Bond movies are WAY over-done and far too wild and far too impossible and ridiculous. In fact, it would be nice if Bond went back to just being more of a spy instead of a one man demolition team!

If we need a gay or Black hero, just make up something new. Bond is White, British and straight. Don't jump the shark any more than it already has been.

THAT is why Sean Connery was the perfect Bond... he even had the Edinburgh accent.

My fav j. Bond too.

Bond is a cold war relic. It's time to put the series to bed. I would have been happy if they'd finished the series at View to a Kill.

Good call. But I would've liked to see one last movie ending around the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. That woulda' been the icing.

A Scots father and a Swiss mother? No problem, you can be black and British, Swiss or whatever.

They were not speaking of nationality, but rather ethnicity.

Bond cannot be Black anymore than it would make sense for me to play a 15th century samurai character even if I got Japanese citizenship and married into a samurai family.

And everybody knows darn well that if some White person started playing what was a traditionally Black character, there would be a stink of mammoth proportions. Just imagine any basically all Black TV show, like Good Times, Sanford and Son or the Cosby Show and imagine a remake played by an almost all White cast.

Even Robert Downey, jr got hell for his role in Tropic Thunder, despite the fact that his portrayal of the Black character was spot on mimicry of real Black actors, tasteful and cool with make-up that made him look like a real, and good-looking Black man.

That's pretty much like making Astro Boy or Son Goku black or gay, better yet the famous samurai Oda Nobunaga being portrayed as black or gay.

Keep Bond white and straight and just make a new movie with a black gay hero no, dont mess with it please.... or we could end up with Brown finger . . . He's the man, the man with the Midas touch A spider's touch Such a cold finger Beckons you to enter his web of sin But don't go in!

Why stop there? I want to see an Asian, Latino, Arab, Martian, etc. Bond. Equality opportunity casting!

Most of the posters here seem to think being British means being white.

I think the next James Bond should be a dog, especially a dachshund. That would really show how enlightened we are.

Why not a transvestite, transgender or bisexual one? LMAO..why not a female 007???

Why not keep Bond Scottish Swiss white

The Bond franchise is no stranger to poetic licence. Some tax exiles may be nostalgic for an era when received pronunciation was mandatory at the BBC, too, but that country has moved on.

create a NEW black super spy character

Hopefully we've all moved on from Blaxploitation, as well.

I don't want to see a Black or gay Bond... To pick one just because of the race or sexual orientation is wrong.

But a blonde Bond is OK, Alphaape? As one poster so eloquently demonstrated, a black Bond is the perfect cover.

Anyone contemplating making a Bond film with a gay Bond should think very carefully about audience numbers; latest research shows that homosexuality ratios are only 1:100, and not 1:20 or 1:5 which figures were being bandied about by try-hard phoney liberals 20 - 30 years ago! I like the suggestion about the albino lesbian dwarf though, it shows flair.

By all means, do a Black James Bond. He doesn't have to be gay. He just needs to be uninhibited and open to whatever is necessary to get the job done. You'd be surprised by how many gay men are excited to see a straight man go alternative.

As for a "White Shaft" we can do that too. I welcome it. Get Jason Statham to go to war against "The Man". It might even bring people together.

In summary, even though change doesn't always feel right change is good. Try the opposite! There's hope in that. It doesn't always work but any good scientist will tell you, if you don't experiment you'll never know what the possibilities are.

whatever

Do we need a next one?

We've had too many Bond movies. Not another, thank you.

The bond series take place during the cold war era. Can you imagine a Black spy of British citizenship spying in Russia? No way would that be tolerated or possible then nor now. As the saying goes "the original is always best"a black JB just can't have the aesthetic suave of a genuine British/Scot playing the roll.

If there's one thing about the Bond movies, and I've seen them all as a screenwriter, the basic premise is he works for the British spy agency, MI6. They don't, as a rule, employ blacks, or haven't, as far as I know. BUT, to say Bond can't be black is like saying no human can be. Time for some serious thought.

With Daniel Craig we had a psycho so why not another form of psychosis I.e.gay?