It was just recently revealed that the new James Bond movie, which is currently in production will likely have black British actress and Captain Marvel star, Lashana Lynch as James Bond’s replacement.
In a revelation by a movie insider to the Mail on Sunday, Lynch takes over as the new 007 after Bond’s retirement. Bond’s retirement is, however, cut short after he is called back into service.
Though the news of a female 007 has largely been welcomed, the first black Bond lady, Trina Parks, who played assassin “Thumper” in the 1971 instalment of the popular spy movie series begs to differ. Starring alongside Sean Connery who was then James Bond in “Diamonds are Forever”, Parks doesn’t think the idea of reportedly giving the coveted role to a woman in the upcoming Bond movie is right.
“Lashana is a great actress, but I don’t really agree with her becoming 007,” Parks told the Mirror. “It’s not about her colour – a black James Bond, sure. But as a man.
“It’s just because Bond, the spy code named 007, was written by Ian Fleming as a man. Miss Bond doesn’t have the same ring to it,” she added.
Albeit pleased with how the spotlight has been shone on women heroines in Hollywood recently, Parks, however, doesn’t think the Bond franchise should make drastic changes in its production of the series.
“I like that. But I don’t feel James Bond has to go there,” she said.
“It’s been a tremendous franchise since the 60s, and they’ve always been innovators not followers.
“They set a standard – that has remained a classic film with a man as Bond. That’s how I think it should stay.”
Parks also commended the Bond franchise for being a trailblazer for inclusivity.
“The Bond franchise has gone out of the box with black actors and women of colour more than any other,” she told the Mirror.
“In Hollywood, production executives were looking at women who were sexually attractive to their societal circles.
The announcement of Lynch as the new 007 and Parks rather preferring a man for the role comes in the wake of black British actor Idris Elba revealing he was troubled over the racist backlash he received over playing James Bond.
Elba as Bond has been in the news since 2014, when, according to media reports, emails released during the massive Sony hack revealed that then-studio co-chair Amy Pascal told a colleague, “Idris should be the next Bond.”
Elba has, however, for some years now maintained that he is not going to play James Bond, even suggesting that a woman should play that role. It has now emerged that even though many wanted the Luther star to take the Bond role, others felt that such a role should not be played by a black man or someone who is not white or British.
These comments hit hard at Elba.
“You just get disheartened,” he told Vanity Fair. “When you get people from a generational point of view going, ‘It can’t be.’ And it really turns out to be the colour of my skin. And then if I get it and it didn’t work or it did work, would it be because of the colour of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put myself into when I don’t need to.”
He, however, admitted that he is intrigued by the idea of a black James Bond and that if the role was offered to him, he would take it.
“James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey,” he said.
“Of course, if someone said to me, ‘Do you want to play James Bond?’ I’d be like, ‘Yeah,’ that’s fascinating to me.”
“But it’s not something I’ve expressed, like, ‘Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond. Because by the way, we’re talking about a spy. If you really want to break it down, the more less-obvious it is, the better.”
