James Bond producers explain why Idris Elba is unlikely to land the role

James Bond producers have explained why they don’t think Idris Elba will end up playing the iconic role. 

Ever since it was announced that current Bond Daniel Craig would be stepping down after the most recent movie, rumours have been swirling about who will be next to play the martini-drinking spy. 

Just about anyone who’s appeared on the big or small screen in the last couple of years has been named, including James Norton, Tom Holland, Henry Cavill and even Canadian star Ryan Gosling - and one name that refuses to leave bookies’ lists is Luther star Elba. 

He’s currently 6/1 according to Odds Checker, just trailing behind current favourite Cavill and Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page. 

BBC

However, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson recently revealed that they’re yet to pitch prospective actors for the role but reckon Elba might not be keen anyway.

Speaking to Variety, they said it was ‘early days’ in the quest to find a new Bond and that they hadn’t spoken to Elba - or anyone else - about the role just yet. 

The pair said Elba was ‘great’ and admitted that they ‘love Idris’, but suggested that the time commitment to the role might put the star off signing up. 

Broccoli said: “The thing is, it’s going to be a couple of years off and when we cast Bond, it’s a 10-, 12-year commitment. So he’s probably thinking, ‘Do I really want that thing? Not everybody wants to do that. It was hard enough getting [Daniel Craig to do it].” 

Francis Specker / Alamy Stock Photo

Wilson added: “And he was in his early 30s at the time!”

And it seems Elba would agree, he recently revealed that playing Bond isn’t something he’s got etched onto his career to-do list. 

Speaking on The Shop podcast, he said: “It is not a goal for my career. I don’t think that playing Bond will satisfy some of my personal goals. It will definitely satisfy the will of a nation. I’m not gonna lie, every corner of the world I go, and I’m talking about different cultures, they always go ‘Bond'.

"And I feel it is beyond me at this junction. It’s beyond me. It’s not a question of, should I, do I, will I. It is what the will of the nation dictates sometimes.”

He went on: “I’m not that guy, but in everyone’s world I might be. And that – job done. Because the truth is, you know, a lot of people are really seeing Idris playing Bond as the ‘alternative Bond'. And as long as that alternative is existing, that’s great for the growth of f***ing casting.”