Next James Bond Could Be Idris Elba?
He does look good in a suit...
The discussion over who could play the next James Bond could be nearing it's conclusion, as the biggest clue yet has been dropped over the next actor's identity.
Despite the entire WhatCulture office - and most of you, probably - demanding that I be cast as the next Bond, producers might actually be honing in on some else to play the role.
Idris Elba, star of stage and screen both in the UK and US, has had the door opened for him by franchise producer Barbara Broccoli, according to Training Day director Antoine Fuqua.
In a recent interview, Fuqua said that Brocoli believes "it is time" for a non-white actor to take over the role and that he is personally certain that it "will happen eventually".
"Idris could do it if he was in shape. You need a guy with physically strong presence. Idris has that", he went on to say. Of all Elba's many acting qualities, presence is arguably the one most readily showcased. His performances in The Wire, Luther, Beasts of No Nation, Molly’s Game, The Jungle Book and Thor all positively glistened with it.
This is still some distance from a confirmation over who will replace Adam Clery lookalike Daniel Craig as James Bond, and release him from his own personal hell of being paid $25m dollars to play a spy.
Tom Hardy had been mentioned, as had Michael Fassbender and Tom Hiddleston, but Elba remains the most popular choice, even if his inclusion on the shortlist is considered controversial by some people.
The next Bond is being directed by Danny Boyle and is scheduled to be out in cinemas towards the back end of 2019. Daniel Craig is back in the lead role, the poor mite, but as yet there’s no official news on the rest of the cast.
Bond 26, which could potentially be the one to feature Elba, is expected to be released around 2022 or 2023, at which point he’d be nearly 50. I'd still be early 30s... just saying.