James Bond: What actor is said to be in the running to succeed Daniel Craig?
star has been rising in Hollywood in recent years thanks to critically acclaimed roles on HBO鈥檚 The Wire and the BBC series, . His commercial appeal is growing, too, after being cast in (2011), Ridley Scott鈥檚 (2012), and Guillermo Del Toro鈥檚 upcoming听听(2013). The question for Elba now is 鈥� what next?
Yesterday, we learned that 听about directing another James Bond film after , which sparked a debate in the comments about who should play James Bond after Daniel Craig鈥檚 tenure ends (he鈥檚 signed on for two more Bond films at the moment). One name that continues to pop up is Idris Elba, and now there鈥檚 reason to believe that it鈥檚 more than mere speculation.听
According to Elba鈥檚 co-star in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and the newest 鈥淏ond girl,鈥� Naomie Harris 鈥� courtesy of听听- Elba met with longtime Bond movie producer Barbara Broccoli to discuss the possibility of him becoming the first black James Bond. Check out what Harris said below:
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize that there was this talk and then I did a film with Idris 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. And I would have to vote for Idris because I just finished working with him and he鈥檚 a great guy.鈥�
Obviously, race has played a role in the discussion of whether or not Idris Elba might play James Bond, as Bond has been portrayed by a Caucasian actor over the span of 23 films and six decades. However, in October of last year, Elba dismissed skin color as a real argument against his being cast.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be the black James Bond.听Sean Connery wasn鈥檛 the Scottish James Bond, and Daniel Craig wasn鈥檛 the blue-eyed James Bond, so if I played him, I don鈥檛 want to be called the black James Bond.鈥�
So would Idris Elba make a quality James Bond, Screen Rant readers? He鈥檚 the right age, he has the right physical build, he鈥檚 English, and his acting talent and onscreen presence in听Luther听won him a听.听In our opinion, playing James Bond would be right in his wheelhouse.
Still, there鈥檚 no telling when precisely the meeting between Idris Elba and Barbara Broccoli took place, as Naomie Harris didn鈥檛 specify. It鈥檚 entirely possible those talks happened well before the studio committed to Craig for two more films.
Even if Elba doesn鈥檛 break the James Bond color barrier, fans will certainly still have plenty to look forward to with Pacific Rim听, a third season of Luther, and beyond.
Daniel Johnson blogs at .
