Photograph — theguardian.com

Whatever you may think of British Nigerian Actor, David Oyelowo, you can’t help but be aware of his obvious talent as an actor as seen in his excellent portrayal of Martin Luther King in the docu-drama ‘Selma’.

The Bond franchise seems on fire this week as the trailer for upcoming Bond movie, ‘Spectre’ was released recently and fans are still reacting to it. Now, a Bond audiobook is in the works and British Actor, David Oyelowo has been picked to portray James Bond in Anthony Horowitz’ Trigger Mortis. First off, as a working black actor in Hollywood, it is legitimate if the phrase “black James Bond” is used by the media. After all, he is the first black actor to portray the suave Irish hero (film or otherwise).

Over ten years ago, Oyelowo was cast as Henry VI in the Royal Shakespeare Company (the first black man to have done so). Oyelowo has said the estate of Ian Fleming, who is the original author of the Bond franchise, asked him personally to take up the role as 007 for the audiobook. While that is an achievement on its own, is voicing Bond an equivalent to Daniel Craig and his predecessors’ swashbuckling action scenes on the big screen?

In a statement, the actor says…] “I am officially the only person on planet Earth who can legitimately say ‘I am the new James Bond’… even saying that name is the cinematic equivalent of doing the ‘to be or not to be’ speech”.

A recent article regarding the hype, downplayed the actor’s achievement with a headline that reads – “David Oyelowo becomes the first black actor to portray James Bond….in audiobook form at least”. Though the title appears regular, the last part has the capacity to call readers’ attention to the probable fact that voicing an audiobook is no big deal or it is all the black actor is capable of!

Bond fans and critics alike shared various views on Oyelowo being cast as 007 in an audiobook. Some dismissed it as unnecessary, while others expressed admiration for the actor who broke world record as the first black man to portray Bond. It has also been regarded as a disruption in the Bond process, as previous Bond men are white and therefore appropriate.

For others, they could not comprehend why the status quo could not be maintained and why the world needs a black James Bond, not the usual Irish. The twist however, is that some views expressed concerning race are not limited to whites. Some blacks share the same concern, out of political correctness.

People have also expressed a nonchalance because he will not be seen on screen, but heard on an audiobook. Some others felt it is inappropriate for anyone to label the actor a black James Bond. After all, an actor is an actor. James Bond is Irish but Caucasian Americans portrayed him in the past, they were never called American Bond. Besides that, some Irishmen are black. 

It would be recalled that many fans reacted negatively to Michael B. Jordan being cast as The Human Torch in Fantastic Four (a role that has never been played by a black man).

If Oyelowo is only playing the character in an audiobook, does his race matter?

The story of James Bond has been around entertainment circles long enough for it to have a cult following. This following flows through to all things that bear any relation to the MI6 hero, so it is expected that there will be some kind of reaction to a major change like this, even if it is ‘just an audiobook’!

Establishment as Bond

An audiobook is lacking the usual uniqueness and star quality of the character, so will David Oyelowo join the ranks of Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton et al as a Bond man? Maybe he won’t be remembered as a Bond man, who once graced your screen like the above named actors. He will however, go down in history as the first black man to ever portray Bond (voice acting or otherwise) and for a Nigerian-born, British actor, that is not half-bad. However, some fans would love to see fellow British actor, Idris Elba on their screen as James Bond.

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