Idris Elba may have said he’s not interested in being cast as 007, but that hasn’t stopped him from weighing in on the spy’s future.
Speaking at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday (January 20), having taken a break from filming Luther in London to promote Yardie, his directorial debut, the Dark Tower star said it’s time to “do something different” when Daniel Craig steps down from the role.
Asked about the future of Britain’s most famous spy, Idris told Variety there’s “no such thing” as a “black Bond,” before saying he hoped the long-running spy franchise will eventually look beyond casting white men in the role.
“It could be a woman. It could be a black woman. It could be a white woman,” he explained. “I think that character? Everybody would like to see them do something different with it. Why not?”
Why not, indeed. Could Idris be backtracking and perhaps hinting at his own interest in the role? He is among the frontrunners to take over from Daniel Craig, alongside The Night Manager smoothie Tom Hiddleston, Homeland star Damian Lewis, Taboo‘s Tom Hardy, and now James Norton, whose performance in McMafia has had U.K. audiences calling him the new 007.
We can’t help noticing the other contenders are all a bit, well, white and male.
If it is a hint, then it’s a distinct change of tone from the last time he discussed the subject. In September last year, he told Buzzfeed “nobody wants” him to play Bond, prompting a huge wail of protest from around the globe and the formation of hashtag #IdrisforBond on Twitter.
There won’t be a vacancy until after Daniel Craig’s final Bond outing, however, which opens in theaters on November 8, 2018.
Do you think it’s time for a “different” Bond?