Idris Elba Reveals He Was ‘Nowhere Near’ Being Cast As James Bond Despite Much Speculation & Criticism About His Race: ‘There’s Never Been Truth To Any Of It’

Idris Elba

Idris Elba Reveals He Was ‘Nowhere Near’ Being Cast As James Bond Despite Much Speculation & Criticism About His Race: ‘There’s Never Been Truth To Any Of It’

Turns out Idris Elba was technically never asked to become the next James Bond.

During a recent interview, the 50-year-old actor shared that producers of the franchise never approached him about playing the role, despite all the reports and industry chatter.

Rumors that Idris Elba was possibly joining the spy movie franchise date back to 2021. At the time Daniel Craig, the latest Hollywood actor to portray the secret agent, was rapping up his run with the series, and reboot discussions had already begun circulating online. Craig’s latest installment, “No Time To Die,” was released that same year, marking the last time James Bond has been seen on the big screen.

While it was initially speculated Elba was joining the fresh project as a potential villain, rumors quickly surfaced that he was actually a favorite to portray the iconic Bond. Despite all the media reports, however, the “Takers” star said he was never actually up for the role. Elba explained in the interview that he is quite close with the makers of the Bond films and from his view, the notion was never anything more than an idea. He reportedly stated:

“I love the Bond franchise, I’m very close to the producers…We were all kind of laughing about the rumors because they are just that.”

“I can’t speak for [the producers], but from my perspective, there’s never been any sort of truth to any of it. It’s a compliment, and it’s an honor — but it’s not a truth.”

Even if producers had eventually offered him the role, Elba expressed that the racial controversy was more than enough for him to decide against it. If you recall back in August of last year, the entertainer aggressively shot down rumors he was partaking in the new project, confirming he had no further interest in the part. At the time it wasn’t clear what exactly prompted the change of heart. Now, however, Elba said it was the naysayers who warped an exciting honor into “disgusting, nonsense.”

He reportedly stated elsewhere in the interview:

“It was a huge compliment that every corner of the world — except for some corners, which we will not talk about — were really happy about the idea that I could be considered…Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race. It became about nonsense, and I got the brunt of it.”

Currently, there is no word on who is in the running to take on the helm. However, producers did confirm that filming for the next movie series is at least two years away. As far as Elba goes, we may not ever get to see him as Bond, but he could be joining another major movie franchise. As we covered earlier this year, the actor said he was “absolutely” interested in signing on to join Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther,” which is expected to release a third installment sometime in the near future. No further updates have been released regarding the matter, however.

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