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 now.
In fact, his chances of landing the gig almost reached a tipping point last night when it was widely reported that he was the favorite to suit up next after Daniel Crag took his last bow. Understandably, folks got pretty excited, but as it turns out, there was nothing to the news and it was completely made up.
The intel was said to have originated from director Antoine Fuqua, who’d apparently spoken to longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli. Seems like something got lost in translation though, as when Fuqua’s reps were asked to comment on the situation, they said the following:
“He never had a conversation with Barbara about the franchise or about any casting. It’s all made up stuff. Not sure how it got started.”
The first 007 flick since 2015’s Spectre, Bond 25 will see the return of Daniel Craig for his fifth outing in the role, though there was certainly a time when we didn’t think we’d see the day. Nevertheless, he’s definitely back and along with Danny Boyle, he’ll be looking to bring the curtain down on this current 007 era.
It’ll be a bittersweet transition, for sure, and though it seems that Elba isn’t a lock to pick up the part next just yet, we also wouldn’t rule him out. After all, we know that the producers are open to having a black, or even female, Bond after Craig, and it wouldn’t surprise us at all if they did indeed go with Idris if they decide to head down the former route.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Bond 25 is up first and that hits UK theaters on October 25th, 2019, before expanding across the pond in time for November 8th.
