“I always joke, how many Bond fans does it take to change a lightbulb?” said Ajay Chowdhury, spokesperson for the James Bond international fan club, the oldest established 007 fan organisation in the world. “One. But 10 to complain how much better the original was.”
As Daniel Craig’s incarnation of Bond draws to a close with the release of No Time to Die next week, rumours over who will replace him have reached fever pitch.
But this time, the customary speculation over the next Bond has become embroiled in culture war skirmishes and “wokery” panic. As campaigners call for producers to pick a woman or a black actor, traditionalists fear cinema’s most iconic spy could be the next “victim of woke”.
“In recent years 007 has become somewhat of a lightning rod for the culture wars,” said Chowdhury. “The Bond films are time capsules of the zeitgeist in which they are made. In this era, the question being asked is: why couldn’t Bond be a black or Asian man?”
Questions over Bond’s identity began in 2018 after Bond producer Barbara Broccoli was reported to have welcomed the idea of ending white actors’ monopoly. A teasing Idris Elba tweet encouraged fans to imagine the Luther actor sipping shaken martinis. But as other franchises have diversified – Jodie Whittaker was cast as Doctor Who, Ta-Nehisi Coates will pen an upcoming Black Superman – it’s the future of Bond that’s ignited the most controversy.
According to Chowdhury, that’s because Bond has always been seen as representative of Britain.
Bond, he added, was also a “lucrative cinematic brand developed carefully over nearly 60 years. If you suddenly turn a Coke can blue, does it taste the same? Yes, but there’s a natural reaction about it.”
That reaction has taken the form of outraged commentaries, such as one in the Telegraph headlined: “If James Bond has gone woke, he might as well be cancelled.”
But the debate isn’t just about Bond’s identity. It’s about his traditional sexism and social caricature.
Some say Bond represents a certain class archetype that is unlikely to change. Dr Claire Hines, lecturer in film studies at the University of East Anglia, who wrote The Playboy and James Bond, said core aspects of Bond’s masculinity would remain the same.
“What Bond looks like and what he stands for are two separate things,” Hines said. “Just because you move beyond whiteness doesn’t mean you move beyond those other core, problematic aspects of Bond, such as the fact that he stands for imperialism and toxic masculinity. There’s a strongly backward-looking aspect to the character that’s difficult to reconcile with any forward-looking casting decisions.”
Quick GuideWho could be the new James Bond?
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Daniel Craig has played Bond in five films since 2006: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die. Here are the latest odds on who will take over as the next 007, as supplied by the bookmaker William Hill.
Tom Hardy – 5/2 odds
Hardy is no stranger to action-espionage films, having starred in Christopher Nolan’s Inception and The Dark Knight. The 44-year-old earned plaudits for his role in films such as Mad Max and The Revenant, and notably declined to speak about 007 when rumours first surfaced in 2017.
Regé-Jean Page – 3/1
Page, 31, who played the dashing Duke of Hastings in Netflix’s period drama Bridgerton, has been the internet’s choice to land the role amid news that he will star alongside Bond actor Ana de Armas in The Gray Man. In the past year there has been a high demand for Page, who will also feature in Dungeons and Dragons.
James Norton – 3/1
Norton’s Hollywood credentials have continued to grow, from appearances in Grantchester to Happy Valley. The 36-year-old’s turn as Alex Goodman in the crime drama McMafia and more recently in Netflix’s Things Heard & Seen have thrust him further into the spotlight.
Luke Evans – 6/1
Evans, 42, has said he would “jump at the chance” to play Bond. The Welsh actor is best known for his roles as Owen Shaw in Fast and Furious 6 and as Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit. Most recently, he starred alongside Nicole Kidman in Amazon’s Nine Perfect Strangers.
Idris Elba – 8/1
There has been plenty of chatter ever since Elba, 49, posted a photo on Instagram with that Bond caption back in 2018. Known for his high-octane action stunts in the hit BBC crime drama Luther, many hope he will be the first Black Bond.
Henry Cavill – 8/1
Cavill was almost cast as 007 ahead of Craig, having auditioned for Casino Royale. With much being made of the suitability of the 38-year-old’s muscular physique and his turn as Superman, the time could be ripe for him to take up the mantle of 007.
Suranne Jones – 9/1
Jones, the star of the BBC’s underwater thriller Vigil, has been added to the list of potential candidates. The 43-year-old, who plays DCI Amy Silva in the drama, also won plaudits for her roles in the BBC’s Dr Foster and Gentleman Jack.
Lashana Lynch – 10/1
There were rumours that Craig’s current co-star Lashana Lynch, 33, was being set up as the next Bond, but it’s since been revealed she’s playing an agent in her own right.
Henry Golding – 25/1
The Crazy Rich Asians star could become the first British-Asian Bond, having described the vacancy as an “opportunity for change”. Golding, 34, has said he’s more than happy to play Bond.
Jodie Comer – 200/1
The 28-year-old Killing Eve star could be in the running after declaring her willingness to play Villanelle in a Bond crossover, particularly with the Fleabag and Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge as one of the lead Bond screenwriters.
Other names that have been touted include the Game of Thrones and Bodyguard star Richard Madden, The Night Manager's Tom Hiddleston and Peaky Blinders' Cillian Murphy.
Nonetheless, No Time to Die is being touted as the Bond film with the most power parity between male and female characters. The black actor Lashana Lynch has inherited the 007 codename, while the Fleabag writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge was brought on in an apparent attempt to advance the film’s feminist credentials.
Insiders said Bond must also navigate “the world of #MeToo”; long gone are the days when Bond could pat a woman on the behind and exclude her from “man talk”.
Craig, who has portrayed a more vulnerable Bond who cries and comforts women, said there were “certain things attached to Bond of which we would say: ‘No, you can’t do that any more.’” The No Time to Die director, Cary Fukunaga, said Sean Connery’s Bond was “basically” a rapist.
“Fleming wrote Bond as someone he fantasised about being, a projected version of himself: a white male fantasised spy, who could get all the girls and dice with death,” said Charlotte Chapman, a casting director whose associate credits include The Serpent, The Crown, Mission Impossible 7 and the new Dangerous Liaisons.
“But even adaptations of novellas and plays with fixed images of characters do not always have to stay close to the source material. There is an opportunity to subvert this; there is always artistic licence.”
But ultimately, the call belongs to the Broccoli family, who have been Bond gatekeepers since 1961.
“If the film is good, people won’t care,” said Chowdhury. “But the toppling of the statue of James Bond would certainly be a tragedy.”
