DEBUNKED! Idris Elba Being Considered to Be ‘James Bond’ After Daniel Craig
With Daniel Craig officially ending his tenure as James Bond with next year’s movie (the 25th in the series), MGM and Eon are already setting their sights on who will portray 007 in the next set of films (with Superman and Mission: Impossible – Fallout actor Henry Cavill apparently being one name under consideration). Now, The Daily Star is reporting that Idris Elba has a serious chance of being the next man for the job.
In a new report, The Equalizer 2 director Antoine Fuqua has stated that he’s had conversations with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and suggested that she feels as though it’s time to seriously consider having a person of color portray the quintessential British super-spy, and that Elba would be ideal for the role. Fuqua also noted that Broccoli believes that the character will inevitably be portrayed by an actor who isn’t a white man, which is how the part of James Bond was originally designed and written. The director explained that he thinks it wouldn’t take much for Elba to prepare for the role:
“Idris could do it if he was in shape. You need a guy with physically strong presence. Idris has that.”
Elba has been rumored for the role for a while, but so far nothing’s really come of it. That could change soon. Should Elba be cast, this would likely raise an important question: would Bond 26 be another reboot with a new iteration of the character, or would it play into the long-standing fan theory that “James Bond” is a title given to exceptional British agents, and that each actor who portrayed the 007 is their own character? Regardless, Elba is incredibly qualified as an actor and would likely nail the role if he does get the part (which far from a certainty here), so here’s hoping.
UPDATE!
Say it ain’t so… According to The Hollywood Reporter, a representative for Fuqua is claiming that the conversation described never happened:
“He never had a conversation with Barbara about the franchise or about any casting. It’s all made up stuff. Not sure how it got started.”
This is one of those things that came across as being too good to be true, and in hindsight, it’s not hard to see where the issues lie here. Bond 25 hasn’t started filming yet, and while the search for someone to succeed Craig is already ongoing, there likely won’t be a clear answer as to who the front-runner will be until after production on Craig’s last film is finished. Furthermore, Elba is 45, so while he’d likely be in the right sort of shape to play the character for a trilogy or so, MGM and Eon are likely looking for an actor who can play the character for well over a decade. This doesn’t rule out the possibility that Elba could be cast, but for now, we’re about as in the dark as to who will play the next 007 as you are.
Bond 25 will be released on November 8, 2019. As mentioned above, it will be the last James Bond movie that will star Daniel Craig as the franchise’s lead character.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
