Idris Elba is currently one of the busiest (and coolest and most beloved) men in show business, and he is really only getting started in his quest to become one of the biggest actors in the world. That’s not hyperbole. He’s currently filming The Dark Tower, a movie that no one ever thought would happen, and when he’s not looking like a total badass in his Gunslinger costume, he’s promoting Star Trek Beyond, in which he plays the bad guy Krall. And if all of that isn’t enough for one man’s plate, Elba is also getting ready to make his directorial debut with the musical film Yardies.
So, with that much work, you’d think reporters would have plenty to talk to him about, but it all keeps coming back to one endless rumor farm — Bond. James Bond. Elba spent most of 2015 as the top actor to replace Daniel Craig for the 25th James Bond film, if Craig is indeed done with the franchise. While he has yet to give a definitive answer, Craig has still made it pretty clear that he’s not dying to get back in the Aston Martin, and so fans clamored to make Elba the first black James Bond, while a predictably angry mob of trolls formed. Naturally, Elba would love to play Bond, but he has always brushed the rumors off as, well, rumors.
The targets changed as the months passed, as Tom Hiddleston became the frontrunner for Bond fans and degenerate gamblers, and other actors like Dominic Cooper, Theo James, and Gillian Anderson were nominated, either by themselves or a desperate rumor mill. But now, after all this time and what feels like hundreds of candidates, Elba is back in the Bond headlines thanks to reporters who don’t want to know about The Dark Tower, Yardies, or even Star Trek Beyond.
Speaking to reporters he said: “There’s nothing to ask me about Bond, it’s just a rumor.”
When asked if he would like to play the character, he replied: “Everybody wants to be Bond.”
Elba’s co-star Simon Pegg also addressed the ‘rumors’ and threw his support behind the actor, before deciding that Elba is “bigger than Bond”.
“Absolutely why not,” he told reporters when asked if he would like to see Elba in the role. “This is the age of shaking it up.
“Or why not a new character for Idris? Idris is bigger than Bond.” (Via The Evening Standard)
You could pass this off as harmless banter among co-stars and friends, just playing along with the media, but Pegg isn’t the only Star Trek Beyond actor giving Elba’s name a boost. Zoe Saldana, fresh off of filming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and onto the Star Trek red carpet, also thinks it’s Elba’s time.
She said: “I think Idris should have been Bond a long time ago.”
“Why wouldn’t [he] be Bond? I love him and adore him and honestly believe that he is one of the sexiest men alive.
“My husband won’t mind me saying that because, trust me, he agrees with me.” (Via Express)
Before supporters get excited again and start calling their British bookies, Elba’s schedule might be the reason this never happens. Working on Yardies could occupy the majority of his time for up to two years, Newsweek estimates, and whichever studio that will eventually sign on to distribute Bond 25 — because, remember, there is still no distributor — is probably going to want to stick to the current schedule of getting Bond back into theaters by November 2017. No matter how impossible that sounds at this point.
Also of note is the fact that despite Wendy Williams’ expert theories, recent rumors suggest that “dating” Taylor Swift has cost Hiddleston the Bond job. That sounds a bit extreme, and the source is also rather sketchy, so we should still assume that Hiddleston can snap his fingers and have just about any job he wants. But adding more doubt to my own unapologetic Bond love for Hiddleston is that fans seem more confident than ever that James Norton is the guy.
Last week British bookies suspended betting on the War and Peace actor after a flurry of bets came in once it was revealed that Aidan Turner is out of the running because Poldark was renewed. In the meantime, though, fans will have to find another movie to gamble on, because the bookies said they are “taking a breather” while the Bond dust settles. At this point, I’d bet a shiny nickel that Craig returns for Bond 25, because it’s the most ridiculous way for this mess to end.
