British actor Idris Elba has officially addressed the long-running speculation that he was a leading candidate to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond.
The 53-year-old star, who is currently promoting his new blockbuster Masters of the Universe, told GQ that the rumors surrounding his possible casting as 007 were never based on reality.
“I always felt it was completely unrealistic,” Elba said. “James Bond was written the way he is for a reason. Of course, I was flattered by the attention, but realistically there are markets that simply would not accept such a version of the character.”
Elba explained that the iconic spy franchise has a global audience and argued that not every market would embrace a major change to the character’s traditional image.
The actor also shared his belief that Bond should remain close to the vision originally created by author Ian Fleming.
“Bond is already a fantasy character,” Elba said. “A little touch of reality is fine, but we shouldn’t try to reinvent him completely. The franchise works best as pure escapism and entertainment.”
While Elba has moved on from the speculation, Amazon MGM Studios is actively developing the next chapter of the James Bond franchise. Casting director Nina Gold recently joined the project and will work alongside director Denis Villeneuve and screenwriter Steven Knight to find the next actor to play 007.
According to reports from Variety, 26-year-old British actor Tom Francis has already completed early auditions. Other names reportedly linked to the role include Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jacob Elordi, and Callum Turner.