On October 6, actor Idris Elba addressed rumors of him possibly becoming the next James Bond, saying that despite fans alleging that he may play the role, he will not be taking on the legendary part formerly played by Daniel Craig.
According to the Rolling Stones, fans have rooted for Elba to take over as James Bond for a while now, and word about it has run rampant after Daniel Craig took his final bow in his last James Bond film, No Time To Die, which premiered on October 8.
Elba spoke to ITV London at the opening gala for the London Film Festival at the BFI Southbank.
Elba was asked if he would take on the role, to which he responded, “No, I’m not going to be James Bond.”
When asked about whether he’d consider taking part in the film one day in the future and he replied, “Who wouldn’t?”
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Elba was attending the event for the premiere of Netflix’s The Harder They Fall.
The Luther actor added, “How amazing would it be to have a Black James Bond? It’s a sign of the times when we can stop talking about black, white, and color.”
Regarding the tentative role, film producer Barbara Broccoli said, “We want Daniel to have his time of celebration. Next year we’ll start thinking about the future.”
Despite this, Elba is still behind the camera, working his magic. He’s slated to act as Knuckles in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film and confirmed that the Luther film would begin filming this year, and an appliance as Tilda Swinton in Three Thousand Years of Longing.
Meanwhile, Craig has officially called the end of an era, with No Time to Die after playing the role for about 15 years.
