*Although Idris Elba would be great as James Bond after Daniel Craig exits the series, one insider insists that the producers, no matter how much they try to leak otherwise, would never cast a person of color for the iconic role.
Elba has once again shut down the rumor that he’s going to play Bond after rumors circulated earlier this month that he was being considered for the role.
As noted by The Huff Past, U.K. publication the Daily Star reported that director Antoine Fuqua spoke with Bond series producer Barbara Broccoli, who said it was time for a black actor to star in the franchise.
A representative for Fuqua later denied the conversation ever happened.
“He never had a conversation with Barbara about the franchise or about any casting,” the rep told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s all made up stuff. Not sure how it got started.”
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Don’t believe the HYPE…
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 12, 2018
When asked by a “Good Morning Britain” reporter on Wednesday if he would be the next 007, Elba replied, “No,” with a laugh.
He also noted that he prefers his martinis “stir-fried” as opposed to Bond’s preference for shaken, not stirred.
Elba later shut down the rumor by tweeting out, “Don’t believe the HYPE.” (see above)
But he initially confused the issue by sending out a tweet earlier in the day that read, “my name’s Elba, Idris Elba.”
my name’s Elba, Idris Elba. pic.twitter.com/kEyyaVg8JX
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 12, 2018
Elba as Bond began floating around in 2014, when emails from the Sony hack revealed that then-studio co-chair Amy Pascal told a colleague, “Idris should be the next Bond.”
Former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan later told the RadioTimes that he would pick the “Luther” actor as James Bond.
But Elba would like to see a woman play the character after Craig.
“I would be interested in having a Bond character other than being a male,” the actor said in a Variety video earlier this year. “It could be a woman, it could be a black woman, it could be a white woman. But I think that character, everyone would like to see [filmmakers] do something different with it, you know. Why not?”
Meanwhile, Elba is slated to direct, produce and star in a modern version of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” for Netflix. He’ll also star in a new Netflix comedy series “Turn Up Charlie,” where he’ll play a struggling DJ… which won’t be a stretch for him, as he’s already a DJ in real life.
Check out one of his sets below:
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