Long a candidate to play the suave MI6 super-spy, Idris Elba wants people to stop constantly asking him about being the next James Bond. Released in October 2021, No Time to Die served as Daniel Craig's swan song, as his Bond was surprisingly killed off during the film's final moments. As it has many times before, the long-running spy franchise will now recast the lead role and reboot its continuity with a new actor.
In the time since the 25th Bond film's release, there haven't been many concrete updates on the recasting process. In early 2022, longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli suggested the momentous casting decision will take a significant amount of time. While no official contenders have emerged yet, fan-favorite choices include Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy, and Regé-Jean Page. Elba has been a popular James Bond fan-cast for the better part a decade, and therefore has been asked about playing the part countless times over the years during interviews.
During a recent appearance on the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast, Elba gets candid about the constant Bond casting questions, calling it "lazy journalism." Elba says he has "no more answers" to the Bond questions, and in turn now tries to avoid the subject altogether. Read what he says below:
I have no more answers for it. I just tell people ‘aw, don’t ask me that.’ Because a lot of times it’s really lazy journalism. And people try to use it as clickbait like ‘what’s he gonna say this time?’ I try to say the same things. Every now and then I just tease them, but every now and then I’ll give them some philosophy on why I don’t want to do it or why it’s a rumor. But most times now I tend not to talk about it.
The takeaway from Elba's recent comments is clear: he's tired of the incessant Bond questions, which is completely understandable. These comments are just the latest reason the Elba-Bond speculation should officially be put to rest. Around the time of No Time to Die's release, Elba came straight out and said he's not going to be the next Bond. A recent reported also indicated that Bond producers are searching for a younger actor in their 30s to play 007, ruling out Elba, at 49 years-of-age, and other fan-favorite picks as well.
Instead of joining an established franchise like 007, Elba seemingly wants to focus on his current franchise characters, such as Luther, which the actor has referred to as own Bond. He also recently reprised his Marvel Cinematic Universe role as Heimdall in for a surprise cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder, which could be setting up future appearances. Though James Bond is off the table, Elba still has a wealth of franchise and non-franchise roles to keep him occupied, such as Beast, which is currently playing in theaters, and the dark fantasy film Three Thousand Years of Longing, which releases in theaters on August 26.
Source: Jemele Hill is Unbothered