Daniel Craig is filming his last chapter in the James Bond series and the rumor mill is buzzing over the identity of his replacement. The name that keeps popping up over and over again is the handsome, 45-year-old British actor Idris Elba. Could he soon be donning his best suit and getting all those cool gadgets?
Elba has offered speculating fans little help. His Twitter has been a bevy of mixed messages. At first, all signs pointed to YES.
my name’s Elba, Idris Elba. pic.twitter.com/kEyyaVg8JX
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 12, 2018
But, hold on.
Don’t believe the HYPE...
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 12, 2018
What is a fan to believe?
The British tabloid The Daily Star reignited the Elba-Bond rumor last week by publishing a piece suggesting that director Antoine Fuqua heard from Bond producer Barbara Broccoli that "it is time" for an African-American 007. Fuqua's representatives deny the conversation took place and said it's "all made up stuff."
In 2014, when the rumors first began, Elba tweeted, "Isn't 007 supposed to be handsome?"
Um, we think you have that box checked.
In an interview with Variety last year, again deflecting rumors, Elba suggested a woman take the Bond baton.
“I would be interested in having a Bond character other than being a male,” he said. “It could be a woman, it could be a black woman, it could be a white woman. But I think that character, everyone would like to see [filmmakers] do something different with it, you know. Why not?”
As for James Bond producers, they are begging fans to be patient.
Real BOND Update: Barbara Broccoli and EON currently meeting with actresses and actors for Bond Female lead and Villain for BOND 25, what they are not doing is thinking about who would replace Craig when Craig hasn't even started filming this film yet
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) August 10, 2018
The next Bond movie, directed by Danny Boyle, is due to hit theaters in October 2019.
The next obvious question: Who will be the next Bond girl?