Both Idris Elba and recent Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya have been linked to the part of 007, so why would the former be a better fit for James Bond than the latter? Since the late, great Sean Connery first donned the iconic tuxedo in 1962’s Dr. No, suave spy James Bond has been played by six different actors in official adaptations of Ian Fleming’s famous novels. The MI6 agent has been campy, charming, self-aware, and deadly serious depending on the actor playing him, with Daniel Craig’s Bond being the most grounded and morally ambiguous version so far.
Craig’s take is a radical departure from the campier 007 of his predecessor Pierce Brosnan. However, as the frequently-delayed No Time To Die’s release date approaches, the question of who will replace Craig in the role, and how they will transform the part of 007, remains a hot topic. Craig’s retirement from Bond was announced back in November 2019, and many commentators have noted this is an opportunity for the thus-far largely white franchise to offer some more diverse representation in its lead role.
Both The Wire star Idris Elba and Judas and the Black Messiah’s Daniel Kaluuya have recently been linked to the role after Craig’s tenure ends, and both are very popular prospects among fans of the series. But the older of the two stars is a better fit for the part of Bond for several reasons, most of which center around 007 recapturing his sense of fun.
Bond Needs To Be More Fun After Craig
When Craig’s era began, the actor’s Bond was competing with Bourne at the box office and the morally ambiguous, visually and thematically grey landscape of post-9/11 blockbuster cinema necessitated a more grounded iteration of 007. This was not the first time Bond had gotten more serious after changing actors; Dalton’s Bond was a hard reset who dropped the cornier elements of Roger Moore’s outings and added a darker edge to the spy. However, as Craig’s time playing Bond reaches its end after more than a decade, now the character comes up against the faintly ludicrous Fast and Furious franchise and the sprawling, magic-and-sci-fi-inclusive Marvel Cinematic Universe, meaning a sillier tone is once again needed for the new movies.
The PTSD-afflicted Bond who Le Chiffre tortured in Craig’s debut Casino Royale is no longer a fit for the self-referential escapism viewers now expect from blockbuster fare. With Craig’s Bond being the darkest iteration of the character so far, a shift back into the lighter territory is necessary to pull off a dramatic tonal reset. Much like Brosnan’s Bond was cheekier and more meta than Dalton’s, the Bond who follows Craig will need to take himself less seriously than his scowling predecessor – something that Elba’s CV proves he can pull off.
Elba Has Campy Pedigree
Both Idris Elba and Daniel Kaluuya have starred in Marvel Cinematic Universe outings. However, Kaluuya played a more serious supporting role in the comparatively socially-conscious Black Panther, where Elba played a campy character in the far more over-the-top milieu of Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. Outside of the MCU, though, Elba has also spent the last two decades since his breakout role in The Wire starring in the likes of the upcoming The Suicide Squad, Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, Pacific Rim and Hobbs & Shaw. Even without taking into account his roles in childrens films like The Jungle Book, Elba has serious screen cred when it comes to the more over-the-top, less self-serious side of blockbuster movies. Kaluuya, however, has proven the opposite since his breakout role in the mid-’00s.
Kaluuya’s Best Movies Are Dramatic (Like Craig’s Bond)
Kaluuya first made a name for himself as Posh Kenneth in television’s Skins, and there is no denying the actor earned a lot of laughs in the part (as well as co-writing some episodes of the Channel 4 cult hit). However, in the years since, Kaluuya’s critically acclaimed roles have established a pattern that tracks more with Daniel Craig’s self-serious Bond more than a lighter take on the role. Whether it is Get Out, Queen and Slim, or Judas and the Black Messiah, Kaluuya’s strongest performances are parts that were heavier and more rooted in realism than Craig’s (still somewhat escapist) Bond. As such, leaning into his strengths as an actor would mean making the next version of Bond even more dramatic, something that could leave the franchise seeming out of touch with the tone of current blockbuster cinema.
Supporting roles in Johnny English Reborn or Kick-Ass 2 prove Kaluuya has campy comedic chops, but both were small parts in critically dismissed movies in comparison to Elba’s history of playing goofy, self-aware characters in big-budget hits. Elba has consistently proven that, despite his serious roles in The Wire or Luther, he has the self-parodic humor of Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan. Kaluuya, in contrast, has excelled in serious roles; but this doesn’t mean an Elba-starring James Bond reboot wouldn’t have a role for the star.
Why Daniel Kaluuya Would Be A Perfect Q
Since winning an Oscar, there is no doubt Daniel Kaluuya’s already impressive slate of projects is set to become even busier in the coming years. As a result, a supporting role in the James Bond franchise could be a better fit for the actor, and Craig’s decision to leave the role gives him the perfect opportunity. Ben Whishaw reinvented gadget-maker Q as a nebbish data geek in recent James Bond outings and worked well as comic relief for Craig’s 007. However, a new Q played by Kaluuya could add more diversity to the cast of the Bond franchise and fit the more deadpan comic stylings of the actor to a tee, with the detached wit he brought to Get Out fitting the role of Bond’s beleaguered colleague. A less campy comic talent than Elba, Kaluuya would be a perfect straight man to Elba’s James Bond in much the same way Desmond Llewelyn’s exasperated older Q proved a great foil for Brosnan’s grinning, charming iteration of the spy.
