"Well, I'm sure we'll be able to Nic you into shape"
It appears that Nicholas Pinnock has ruled himself out of playing James Bond — because he's Black.
"I grew up with James Bond looking and acting a certain way. I don't want it to change", said the Londoner.
"You go to watch a James Bond movie, you know that James Bond's going to be this English, Scottish or Irish guy with a slick accent, with kick-arse moves, who gets all the ladies. Great! I want him to stay like that. I don't think changing him and ticking a box is the answer".

Rather than reimaginings, Nicholas instead has urged "the industry to put the same amount of money, care and attention into another character that doesn’t look like James Bond.
"If they put posters up tomorrow saying '008' in the same font, everybody would be at the cinema. They wouldn’t question it, and they would love it. And it could be me. It could be Idris Elba, it could be Dev Patel. It could be anybody of non-European descent, and it would be amazing".
Copyright © 2026 J W Emery Ltd. All rights reserved.
Joe Emery
Joe is Editor of For Bond Fans Only and a writer by trade. When he's not watching Bond, he can be found listening to The Beatles and worrying about West Ham. You can find him on X @joeemerywrites