While Idris Elba fans still had their fingers crossed for the charming “Luther” star to become the first Black James Bond in the upcoming film Spectre, Elba has officially shot down the rumors. According to Elba, he isn’t filling any secret agent shoes any time soon and he’s blaming 007 favorite Daniel Craig for spreading the rumors.
The new Bond film is slated to hit theaters later this year, causing conversations about who will be playing the iconic spy character to take over media headlines.
Many names were tossed up by the public, but none seemed to become quite as popular as the idea that Elba would become the first Black man to play the classic role.
Many shunned the idea and insisted that a Black man couldn’t play the role because it was originally written for a white character.
Even the first Black Bond villain slammed the idea as “ridiculous” and “silly,” but now everyone has a new word to use to describe the “Black Bond” rumors—false.
During his appearance at London’s British Film Institute, the 42-year-old actor revealed that all the rumors about him taking on the role of James Bond are completely untrue.
“Honestly, it’s a rumor that’s really starting to eat itself,” Elba said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “If there was ever any chance of me getting Bond, it’s gone.”
There are many reasons the rumors may have escalated as quickly as they did but nothing was as flammable a fuel to the fire than the release of private Sony executive emails following a controversial hack.
In the midst of a collection of racially charged and offensive emails, one message from former Sony executive Amy Pascal revealed that she was a fan of Elba becoming the next James Bond.
Even Elba’s own Mandela co-star helped fuel the rumors during a 2012 interview with the Huffington Post.
“I didn’t realize that there was this talk and then I did a film with Idris,” Naomie Harris said during the interview. “And he said that he met Barbara Broccoli and that it does seem like there is a possibility in the future that there could very well be a Black James Bond.”
Well, if there is going to be a Black James Bond, it isn’t going to be Elba and he playfully pointed the finger at Daniel Craig for getting his fans’ hopes up.
Craig, who took on the Bond role in three of the films, recently expressed his interest in Elba joining him on the list of charming Bonds.
“Daniel Craig actually set the rumor off,” Elba said. “About four years ago he said Idris Elba would be a great Bond and then it started to creep. I blame Daniel.”
