Hollywoods Changing A Lot About Some Of Its Most Iconic Characters. Is Hollywood Becoming More Representative Of America In A Changing Culture Or Has A New Generation Of Talented Actors and Actresses Just Stepped Up Their Games?

Marvel Fans have now felt the change in Hollywood as the torch officially was passed to Anthony Mackie to carry the shield and the iconic role of Captain America. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is an exciting time for fans of the MCU and all things Marvel. Falcon was an incredible character and adding Anthony Mackie to the mix during Captain America and the Winter Soldier was a well-timed addition of one of our newest and beloved action heroes. For some, however, this will pose questions that even Captain America struggled with at the end of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. While I personally didn't care for the overly politicized monologue that the directors and writers added into the end of the series, the questions Sam had about being black and being Captain America, it does reopen discussions about Hollywood and its' representation of the races of its' ticket-buying fans.

So, I guess I'd tell Captain America to relax and like his predecessor, Steve Rogers used to say, "Get to work."

Anthony Mackie as the new Captain America made the most sense of any option. When Steve went back to the 1940s and reunited with Agent Carter he got the life he lost out on when he crashed down in the arctic. Steve/Captain America absolutely knew what was best bringing the shield back for Sam. Even Sam didn't feel like it was his.

Sam: "It feels like it belongs to someone else."

Steve: "It doesn't."

So, now what. Almost immediately after the successful run and the reactions to the new Captain hit the internet it was announced that Captain America 4 was greenlit. All I could think was a resounding YES! YES! YES!

Anthony Mackie is fast turning into one of my favorite actors and he's got the depth and range to play just about any role. Take a look at his past roles in movies like The Hurt Locker, The Night Before, The Adjustment Bureau and, maybe you should IMDB him and see what he's done if you're not a fan yet.

So, why the dialogue at the end? What was the purpose? Well, it's America in the year 2021 and we've all seen racial relations in our country fall to levels not felt since the civil rights movement. There is a, Sadly, term for the changing of a character in Hollywood that involves a change in races. Lastly, people aren't accepting of change as they should be. Hopefully, people accept the new Captain America. I personally am excited to see the role of Captain America back in the MCU. It's not Steve Rogers folks. This Captain isn't enhanced with Super Soldier Serum and still got into the fight, just now, he can fly, and he's got the Winter Soldier on his side.

There's another change on the horizon and this one, well this one is a huge one. For almost sixty years there's been a British Secret Service Agent, Commander James Bond, 007, and his adventures saving the world, the kingdom and taking out bad guys by the dozens along the way. After more than half a century of globetrotting and woman chasing James is getting another face life, or rather, the 007 character is getting another one.

We've had Sean Connery, arguably the absolute best bond of the bunch. Connery's movies were the classics and still watched by any true fan of the franchise. George Lazenby stepped in for one shot at playing the womanizing, stylish hero with a license to kill on Her Majesty's Secret Service. Connery came back to the role and played it until Live and Let Die in 1973. It was then that Sean Connery stepped away again and turned the iconic character, car, and gun, over to Roger Moore who then played the role a total of 7 times.

We went on to see Connery come back for one more run as James Bond in the movie Never Say Never Again. In the eighties, Timothy Dalton took a swing at being James Bond, and while it was a shorter run than his predecessors his name will go down in history as having been 007. Dalton was replaced by a more charismatic actor when Pierce Brosnan stepped into the role. Until Brosnan, nobody had captured the essence of the 007 character like Sean Connery and for a time Brosnan was a contender for the title of the best Bond. Brosnan was our titular hero for a total of four outings, ending with Die Another Day where he played 007 alongside Halle Berry's character of Jinx. All in all, not a bad place to end things.

With current 007 Daniel Craig getting ready to step away from the role of the British Spy, we are getting ready to meet his replacement and as a fan of the franchise, I'm anxiously awaiting the release of No Time To Die. For the first time in the storied history of the franchise, James Bond will appear and not be 007. Incoming 007, Lashana Lynch, has filled the role of 007 because, at the end of Spectre, Bond retired. The 007 designation needed to be filled. Much to the dismay of fans, and some other types that I won't mention, 007 is now a female and black.

So, how will she do? Let's take a look at Lashana Lynch and her roles. The 34yr old Lynch is British-born and has a BA from the ArtsEd Drama school in London. She has been in films since the 2011 drama fast girls and gone on to play in the MCU as Maria Rambeau, Captain Marvels' bestie from her days as a pilot. With an IMDB list of projects that's kept her extremely busy working as an actress the past ten years, and after having seen a few of her roles I'm far more excited to see her pick up the 007 job than some of the others. Sure, Idris Elba would have been cool but let's face facts, Idris Elba's been an extremely busy guy and is already 48yrs old and the bond role is a physically demanding piece of work to take on. Tom Hardy's too short, Henry Cavill is too American and looking at the list, Michael B Jordan is heading towards a roll in a second universe Superman story as well as, at least I hope after watching his new Amazon release, heading up some sort of project surrounding Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 being adapted to a movie.

My congratulations and best wishes go out to Lashana Lynch and I'm hoping this works for the franchise and can give it a rebirth. Take a look at some of her works if you're unfamiliar.

The changes in Hollywood are starting to become more and more apparent after several years of hearing about a lack of representation in movies, at the Oscars, and behind the scenes. Whether this is Hollywood intentionally taking steps to be more inclusive or not, I seriously question. The choice to put the shield of Captain America on the character of the Falcon/Sam wasn't the only option. There's comic canon that puts it onto Bucky as well. The reality, in my opinion, spoke and the decision-makers realized that Anthony Mackie is the better actor.

Casting a new person as 007 is long past due. James bond has been running and gunning, living and doing more than his share of loving, since 1963. It's time for a new generation. Much the way his womanizing had to change in the 80s to be with the times during the HIV outbreak, its' time they realize that putting James through all that abuse would be to abuse a senior citizen. The fact that it's a good-looking woman with one of those accents that make you swoon is all the better.

The talents that have been considered for the iconic roles currently being filled are simply put, that good, and the hungry generation of actors and actresses have definitely stepped up the game and have risen the bar.

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