See John Boyega As The New James Bond
John Boyega could be 007. See him as secret agent James Bond.
This article is more than 2 years old
Boyega. John Boyega. As James Bond? Some fans are clamoring for it, one going so far as putting together a piece of fan art that imagines what Boyega would look like as the super spy, putting Boyega in Bond’s trademark tuxedo.
John Boyega himself had a strong reaction to his name being tossed into the running, as he told MTV via Cinemablend while also name dropping as to who should helm the movie. “Ooh! Hey listen, Steve McQueen directing, let’s do this! We could show them something different. We still bring that sophistication. You know, James Bond has to be James Bond. But we could do something with that.” McQueen has been around for some time but made a big name for himself with his 2013 movie 12 Years a Slave. Boyega could also be name dropping because the pair had a chance to work together on the British TV mini-series Small Axe.
Not only are fans excited about this possibility, but you can also count actress Letitia Wright (Black Panther, Death on the Nile) as another who is on board. She told MTV when she was asked to choose between John Boyega or Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Queen & Slim) and while she had to think about it a moment, she was pretty definite with her answer. “Mmm-mmm. I say Boyega because I know he would love it, you know? Daniel is the, he’s the, “Do the work and stay behind,” you know, he likes to stay low-key. So, that’s too much. He can still play Bond too, but I know John Boyega would just, yeah.”
With Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond soon coming to an end with the upcoming Cary Fukunaga’s No Time To Die, there have been many rumors and names that have popped up as to who should take over the Bond mantle. Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, The Witcher), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Sam Heughan (Outlander), and Idris Elba (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Thor: Ragnarok) are a few names that have been tossed around with many landing on Cavill as Bond’s successor. But there is also strong backing for the new Bond to show more diversity. In fact, some are asking for the new Bond to be a female.
Boyega’s name being added to the mix comes on the heels of some scathing comments he made about his Star Wars experience. “I’m the only cast member whose experience of Star Wars was based on their race.” Boyega’s issues come with how he felt Disney and company handled his character of Finn in the trilogy. “You get yourself involved in projects and you’re not necessarily going to like everything. [But] what I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”
John Boyega’s comments to GQ weren’t only directed at himself but of other actors of color in the cast, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, and Naomi Ackie. “Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver,” he says. “You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know fuck all. So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience. They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything.”
Where these comments take Boyega in the future is unknown. It is clear he is ready to throw his hat in the ring for a shot at James Bond and he does seem to have some backing. But Hollywood can be a fickle environment and sometimes they react adversely to an outspoken actor or actress. Let’s hope that is not the case for Boyega and that he actually does add his name to the growing list of James Bond candidates.
