Though Idris Elba offered a blunt “no” a few months ago to the question of whether he might be the next James Bond, any rumor that’s been fueling the imaginations of fans for this long isn’t about to go down without a fight, and in a recent article from the Express, it’s reported that the bookies’ odds on the Beasts of No Nation star taking on the 007 role have improved once more.
As it stands, Coral has reduced the odds for Elba from 4-1 to 3-1, with a spokesperson from the bookmakers connecting this change to the current hype around the fifth season of Luther.
“Idris Elba is set to hit our screens again on New Year’s Day as DCI John Luther and ahead of the return of the show, punters have been rushing in to back him to become the next James Bond.”
All the same, Elba is still only Coral’s third-favorite, with his fellow Avengers: Infinity War casualty Tom Hiddleston holding onto the top spot with 6-4 odds, followed by McMafia star James Norton at 2-1. After that, former frontrunner Tom Hardy sits at 6-1, while the previously rumored Richard Madden is at 8-1 and Aidan Turner of The Hobbit fame lags behind with 16-1 odds.
Of course, Sony and Columbia are under no obligation to stick to this list of candidates, and the various fanbases across the internet have been putting in the effort to campaign for their personal favorites. Regardless, it could be a long wait before this years-old race ever finishes, but in the meantime, director Cary Fukunaga is hoping to give the current James Bond a worthy send-off, with Bond 25 due to hit theaters on February 14th, 2020.
