After years of talks, online speculation and fierce debate around who the next James Bond will be, it appears Idris Elba has withdrawn from the running, according to sources.
Despite constantly dismissing the role – in 2021, at the premiere of his movie The Harder They Fall, when asked if he would be considered as the next Bond he said: “No, I’m not going to be the next James Bond” – he was still the bookies favourite to don the famous Tuxedo.
But according to a source talking to The Sun, the Luther star has been true to his word and has ruled himself out of the running and is keen to pursue other roles: “Fans and Barbara (Broccoli) wanted Idris but he wants to create something for himself.
“However, he’s put forward names to play 007. He’s ‘informally’ in the decision-making process as he’s been in talks with the producers for so long.”
Stepping aside would open the door to a whole host of potential candidates, most notably Tom Hardy, Richard Madden and Rege-Jean Page. Rumours also began to circulate last year about the possibility of Bond being played by a woman, but producer Broccoli was quick to quash such rumours.
“James Bond is a male character,” she told the PA news agency. “I hope that there will be many, many films made with women, for women, by women, about women… I don’t think we have to take a male character and have a woman portray him. So yes, I see him as male.”
Is this really the end of the road for Idris Elba and Bond? Call us cynical, but we don’t think it is…
Robert Hicks is the Executive Editor at Men’s Health UK. A Sport Science graduate and author of three fitness books published by Bloomsbury, Robert has written numerous articles on health, fitness and nutrition and created several documentaries, most notably Britain’s Steroid Epidemic and The Faces of Attempted Suicide. Robert has been working at Men's Health UK for seven years.
