Rumors of Idris Elba as James Bond have been circulating for years.
E! News reports that Bond casting rumors were reignited this week after The Daily Star reported that Antoine Fuqua has spoken to a Bond producer saying it’s time for an ethnic minority actor to play the lead. The report added that the director suggested Elba.
It didn’t stop there. On Sunday, Elba taunted fans, hinting that he might succeed Daniel Craig in the 007 franchise. The 45-year-old British actor took to Twitter, first posting a cryptic selfie captioned with, “my name’s Elba, Idris Elba,” an unmistakable reference to the iconic Bond line.
This of course kick started the rumor mill into even high gear, however, much to fans’ disappointment, he later tweeted, “Don’t believe the HYPE” next to an image of the rap group Public Enemy.
According to E! News, Elba said in 2014 that if the role was offered to him, he would gladly accept. If this is to happen, it would mean that Elba would be the first ever black actor to step into the suave spy shoes. However, the actor did address the fact that traditionally Bond is a white Scott telling NPR in 2011, “I just don’t want to be called the first black James Bond. Do you understand what I’m saying? Sean Connery wasn’t the Scottish James Bond and Daniel Craig wasn’t the blue-eyed James Bond. So if I played him, I don’t want to be called the black James Bond.”
https://twitter.com/idriselba/status/1028552314183999488