Before we wade into this, it’s best to keep your hype machines in about second gear, because this is as Rumour Mill as Rumour Mill yarns get. But even still, it is juicy.
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Despite having practically the entire globe clamouring for it, moves have been made to well and truly quash any speculation that Idris Elba might fill the coveted role of James Bond once Daniel Craig formally decides to give it away.
And yet today, there’s solid word that it might wind up happening after all.
The quiet whisper from The Daily Star is that Bond series producer Barbara Broccoli reportedly told director Antoine Fuqua that “it is time” for the famous spy to be played by a black actor, and that Idris is the frontrunner for the role should they go down that path.
Broccoli is reportedly of the mindset that a non-white James Bond “will happen eventually,” and that there’s been serious talks about offering the role to Elba once Daniel Craig finishes his final tilt at the wheel in the as-yet untitled Bond 25, which is due for release in 2019.
For what it’s worth, Elba himself has stated time and time again that he will not be Bond, and has instead suggested that it might be time for the role to be played by a female instead, as he detailed in an interview with Variety back in June.
Are we interested in having a Bond character other than being a male? Could be a woman, could be a black woman, could be a white woman, but I think, that character, everybody would like to see it have — do something different with it, why not?
So there you go. Is Idris Elba going to be the next James Bond? Maybe.
But that’s at least a more promising answer than what we had previously, which was a firm “probably not.”
