Few roles in cinema garner as much attention and buzz as 007, and much like the character’s short life expectancy on screen, there’s always speculation doing the rounds regarding who’s next in line to pick up that license to kill and step into the shoes of the secret agent. Recently, much of that speculation has centered around Luther star Idris Elba, who’s seemingly been a favorite to snag the role of James Bond for years at this point.
In fact, his chances of landing the gig almost reached a tipping point following the Sony hacking scandal, which revealed that a number of executives at the company wanted the 42-year-old to replace current star Daniel Craig when the time comes. And though there’s still no telling if that’ll indeed happen, we’re now hearing Elba’s name popping up yet again.
According to director Antoine Fuqua, producer Barbara Broccoli told him that it’s time for a non-white James Bond, while also saying that she believes it’ll happen eventually. Not only that, but Fuqua hinted at Idris Elba being a potential frontrunner for the role as well, saying:
“Idris could do it if he was in shape. You need a guy with physically strong presence. Idris has that.”
Frankly, we’ve lost count of how many times Elba has been linked with the Bond gig, and this latest status update only drives that point home. Still, it’s promising to hear his name continuously thrown around for the part, as he really would be a perfect 007. He’s got the facial features that make audiences quiver at the mere twitch of an eyebrow and his physicality would extend the recent trend of the secret agent preferring to pack a punch, rather than a pistol.
Nevertheless, the 25th installment in MGM’s legendary James Bond franchise remains on course to hit U.S. theaters on November 8th, 2019. And after that? Well, we can’t say just yet, but with any luck, outing number 26 will have Mr. Elba suiting up to bring 007 to life.
