Although he won’t be suiting up as the eponymous protagonist in Bond 25, or the all-seeing Asgardian Heimdall any longer, Golden Globe winner Idris Elba was still able to make headlines last Sunday, albeit for a particularly embarrassing faux pas.
During an interview with Yahoo, while promoting his directorial debut Yardie, Elba was momentarily baffled by the acronym MCU, which, of course, in longhand stands for Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“What’s MCU?” Elba asked, to which interviewer Hanna Flint clarified, “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” much to Elba’s mortification: “Oh, right, I have never heard that before. I thought it was Manchester United… but don’t worry about it.”
Unfortunately, up until this point you’ve only been able to read about the oversight. Thankfully, though, YouTuber Lisa Resnick has published the entire sit down. However, if you’re merely interested in seeing Idris Elba sweat, simply fast forward to the two minute and ten-second mark of the video and enjoy.
That’s right. Remarkably, despite being a part of the highest grossing film franchise of all time since 2011 – when Idris made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Thor – up until last weekend, he had no idea what MCU meant. Regardless, seeing as Heimdall’s demise in Avengers: Infinity War does look like one death that’ll actually remain permanent, it’ll likely be Idris Elba’s last outing in the MCU, so he shan’t have to worry about the shorthand any longer.
Admittedly, though, the Hackney, London native does appear to be at peace with the Asgardian’s demise, saying: “I’m sure they decided to get rid of as many characters because they’ve run their natural course. I loved playing him; he was my G, my guy.”
As for the next time you can catch Idris Elba on the big screen, the actor will be turning up in The Fast and the Furious spinoff Hobbs and Shaw, alongside Vanessa Kirby, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Look for it to hit theaters sometime next year.
