Idris Elba has been linked to the James Bond role for quite a while now, but he has always sounded pessimistic about being the first man of color to take on the 007 mantle. Now, he revealed the idea of a black Bond does not really appeal to him that much.
Speaking to Variety at the Sundance Film Festival, he called out those people who insist the next James Bond should be black, suggesting he was only linked to the role solely because of his color, not merit. Elba said while it is time to do something different to the franchise, he would not want to be hired to simply meet a race quota. However, he does have an idea on who should become the next Bond.
"There is no such thing as a black Bond," he told the publication. "Are we interested in having a Bond character other than being a male? It could be a woman -- could be a black woman, could be a white woman -- but I think, that character, everybody would like to see it have.... do something different with it, why not?"
Elba was first linked to the role back in 2014 when a massive Sony hack revealed an email from then-studio co-chair Amy Pascal mentioning him as a potential successor to Craig. He has since been at the center of the James Bond conversation, although he often dismissed the chatter.
"I think it's more about, 'we just want to have a black guy play James ' rather than 'Idris Elba the actor play James Bond.' That's the part that I'm like, 'Ugh, come on,'" he told the New York Times last year.
Apart from Elba, Tom Hardy, James Norton, and Tom Hiddleston are frontrunners, too, with the "Mad Max: Fury Road" actor the current favorite (odds of 2/1) to replace Craig.
"James Bond 25" is currently in pre-production for a 2019 release.
