Bold new direction for Bond comes with great risks, rewards

After the news broke that in the next Bond film Daniel Craig's replacement as 007 would be revealed, and that person will be a black person (relatively unknown British actress Lashana Lynch), I wrote a piece for The Daily Beast about it.

My thesis was that the news would definitely divide fans of the franchise, with purists being especially irked by this radical change to an iconic character's traditional appearance and background.

Of course, this piece was met with lots of vitriol, more or less confirming my suspicions that this move will be bitterly debated to say the least.

While the Marvel and Star Wars franchises have (to the groans of many conservatives) made nods to gender and racial diversity, the Bond franchise has more or less been a stubborn outlier, with its hero consistently being a white male for the 57 years of big screen adventures in its canon.

Now, the character, created by author Ian Fleming was a white man. There's no denying that. But there is no rule that says producer can't or shouldn't take creative license with that. Nick Fury was a white man in the comic books, for example, until he wasn't.

There is also not anything inherently white or male about the Bond character. A woman can be just as tough and promiscuous as all the previous 007s, albeit in a unique way.

I am saying all this as someone who loves the Bond franchise and who has particularly enjoyed Daniel Craig's 13-year run in the role. I am a diehard 007 fan, even the worst Bond movies have qualities that I appreciate, and I trust the producers to make this transition feel natural and exciting.

Of course, there are legitimate questions about how a female 'Bond' will work. Will she inherent the Bond moniker? Will she have her own character branded name? Will Craig's character ride off into the sunset or die in the line of duty.

Personally, I think these mysteries only raise the stakes and my anticipation for the still untitled 25th Bond film, which is expected to hit theaters next April.

All of this puts tremendous pressure on Lynch, perhaps more than there has ever been for a performer playing 007. Sure, Daniel Craig was not a universally praised choice either when he first got the part, but he was still a white man -- so audiences gave him the benefit of the doubt.

There will simply be some audiences too bigoted to support a billion dollar franchise with a black woman as the face of it. My only hope is that this change will bring in enough new viewers and fans (particularly young women and people of color) to overcome that ignorance.