The next James Bond could easily be coming from the Tanzanian Islands of Zanzibar, and he won’t be white but an ex-British.
This comes shortly after one of the James Bond producers, Barbara Broccoli, hinted that the next actor to play the iconic super spy does not necessarily need to be a Caucasian male, in fact the new 007 star could even be a person of color.
Social Media platforms around the world have been insinuating that Idris Elba is likely, and in fact fits, to become the first ever non-white James Bond and the eighth Double ‘O’ Seven.
Like the Bond character however, Idrissa Akuna Elba happens to be British.
However, his age has gone beyond the producers’ requirement of a ‘Man in his 30s,’ to play Bond, because Idris is well into his 50s and counting.
Plus, Elba was recently quoted as expressing interest to retire in Zanzibar, the tourists infested archipelago floating on the Tanzanian waters of the Indian Ocean.
Zanzibar forms part of the United Republic of Tanzania and the East African Community.
Should the producers of the James Bond series decide to overlook Elba’s age and draft the actor, then chances are the future resident of Zanzibar will cut into the 007 sleuth character.
While the Bond-in-Zanzibar possibility remains a far-fetched theory, this will not be the first time that the Tanzanian Isles produce an international star, Freddie Mercury who fronted the band ‘Queen,’ was also born in the Isles before moving to Britain.
It will just be fitting to have a Bond who moves from Britain to Zanzibar.
A total of seven male actors have been playing ‘James Bond’ for the last 50 years. These include,
- Sean Connery – 1962 – 1967, 1971, 1983
- David Niven – 1967
- George Lazenby – 1969
- Roger Moore – 1973 – 1985
- Timothy Dalton – 1987 – 1989
- Pierce Brosnan – 1995 – 2002
- Daniel Craig – 2006 – 2021
Daniel Craig, the seventh Bond, bowed out of the franchise with his last outing in ‘No Time to Die,’ which came out in 2021.
Now, the team behind the long-running franchise has been under intense spotlight to secure his replacement and they are even considering drafting an actor who will be extremely different from the tried and tested Bond formula.
Broccoli and her brother, Michael G Wilson, have been stewards of the Bond franchise after their father, the legendary producer Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, passed away in 1996.
Cubby and producing partner Harry Saltzman originally bought the rights to Ian Fleming’s novels in 1961, and the key decisions surrounding the franchise have remained with the Broccoli family throughout 25 films, USD 7.6 billion in box-office returns, and the Amazon purchase of Bond’s parent studio MGM in 2021.
At the 15th Governors Awards in Hollywood, Broccoli and Wilson spoke to The Associated Press about the future of Bond.
Both were adamant that the films would remain cinematic endeavors rather than go straight to streaming. However, Broccoli did admit that the lay of the land in Hollywood is different these days, so there will be a certain amount of creative maneuvering involved.
“People are playing it very safe. I think in times of crisis like this, you’ve got to be brave. It’s certainly a new era in the movie business, so we’re trying to figure it out,” Barbara stated.
To Broccoli, part of being brave involves thinking outside the box when picking the actor who will inherit the Bond mantle from Daniel Craig, who played the character five times. She admitted, “It’s a big decision,” before giving some hints about her line of thinking.
Barbara established that the new Bond will be a man more than likely in his 30s, but according to the news agency, “whiteness is not a given quality for the role”.
Potential Bond candidate is expected to sign up for at least a decade of movies, and the Broccoli family is prepared for a period of audience adjustment when the new star is announced.
“Every time we cast a new actor, the films change,” explained Wilson. “It’s the excitement of a new Bond, a new direction. Every one of these people who took on the role offered something new and different.”