New Survey Shows Fans are Okay with Black James Bond but Not Female or Gay Version

Well, it appears the James Bond fandom has taken one step forward and two giant steps back.

After a longstanding rumor that Idris Elba would be the next actor to take on the iconic role of James Bond, we finally got the sad confirmation that People‘s “Sexiest Man Alive” won’t be joining the wide world of British espionage.

However, this news didn’t stop Morning Consult and The Hollywood Reporter from polling Americans about their thoughts on changing up the Bond casting. This may seem like an odd choice since Bond is notoriously British, but Americans do love action movies…

On the positive side, it appears 63% of the people polled are in support of Elba in the lead. 16% struggled to make up their minds, but 21% voted against the idea. Clearly, it’s hard for some fans to accept that James Bond is a fictional character and therefore has no real-life ties to a specific race.

Things took an unfortunate dive from there when the poll reported that less than 2 in 5 want to see a Hispanic, Asian, female or gay Bond. 39% of the people were on board with a Hispanic actor while 37% backed the possibility of an Asian actor or a woman. However, only 28% of the 2,086 people polled could fathom a gay Bond. Apparently, the character’s womanizing is too much of a staple for audiences to part with.

It’s no surprise to learn that the same people prefer the older Bond films, with Sean Connery polling as the overall fan favorite actor. The top five films were also all classics, the “newest” in the bunch being For Your Eyes Only (1981). Daniel Craig ranked #4 on the actor scale and Casino Royale came in at #6 on the movie list.

While it’s disappointing to see a close-minded response to what could be an awesome change for an arguably stale franchise, there are plenty of other series finally making space for heroes that aren’t straight, white men.

After 55 years, Doctor Who finally cast a woman in the lead role, and the fans’ response has been predominantly positive. Marvel is also taking a step in the right direction, with this year’s Black Panther being a wild success.

Next year’s Captain Marvel is also going to be the first MCU movie to star a woman in the titular role. Considering the success of Wonder Woman, we won’t be surprised if these women-led action flicks continue.

We may be in for another 56 years of straight, white Bonds, but there’s still hope for a more diverse future in Hollywood. And even those of us looking for a change can’t deny that it’ll be nice to see Daniel Craig don the tuxedo one last time.

Bond 25, starring Daniel Craig, is set to be released February 14, 2020.