Will there ever be a black James Bond? John Boyega think's online racism makes it impossible
John Boyega is skeptical that a Black actor could play James Bond any time soon. Josh Horowitz, a writer and producer, asked the 30-year-old 'Breaking' and 'Woman King' actor about his thoughts on recasting the iconic 007 character on his podcast on Tuesday, August 30, after his name surfaced in casting rumors.
Boyega told Horowitz on the 'Happy Confused Sad' podcast, "I'm sorry but I'm Black— I don't know how... When you're Black, I don't know how that goes. You as a white man grew up in a society as a white man and that's normal. That's normal to you. Even the mention of a Black Bond is like 'Oh, Okay.'"
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Boyega continued by saying he didn't foresee producers would choose a Black actor to play the part. He said, "I don't necessarily believe that, but if that's what they're doing then that is very surprising to me." The former 'Star Wars' actor confirmed to Men's Health last month that he will not be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, dismissing rumors that he had secretly recorded a role for an upcoming superhero movie.
"That's not in the vision for me now," he said about Marvel, adding, "I want to do nuanced things. I want to donate my services to original indie films that come with new, fresh ideas, because I know it's real hard to top Iron Man in that universe."
In the interview with Horowitz, Boyega added that he was not currently engaged in talks to play the role of 007 but he said, "But, you know, if they give me that call, I'll be there." Ever since it was revealed that 'No Time to Die' would be Daniel Craig's final outing as the iconic character, fans have been speculating about who might be the next Bond.
Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan have all played the part before Craig. Boyega is extremely aware of the negative reactions that can arise when a person of color plays a classic cinema role.
The 'Pacific Rim Uprising' actor had to deal with racist trolls while portraying Finn in the Disney 'Star Wars' trilogy from 2015 to 2019, and at the time he believed it "wasn't a conversation he could bring up." Boyega claimed to have noticed a change after Disney publicly stood up for 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' actress Moses Ingram after she was subjected to online racial abuse. He claimed to have felt "peace" and safe after this.
Boyega told Sirius XM, "Moses Ingram being protected makes me feel protected. It makes me feel like I am not the elephant in the room because when I started it, wasn't really a conversation you could bring up. How they went through it was kind of like, 'let's just be silent.'"