The unofficial campaign to cast Idris Elba as the next James Bond post-Daniel Craig has found a powerful ally in Tom Hanks.
In a recent interview with BBC (via Indiewire), the Hollywood icon made his personal nomination.
“Understand this,” said Tom Hanks.
“James Bond has a licence to kill. I would issue that licence to Idris Elba just based on the work that I’ve seen him do.”
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Despite the glowing vote of confidence, not only has Elba himself denied claims he’s been in the running on multiple occasions, but has also previously stated, “It is not a goal for my career.”
“I don’t think that, you know, playing Bond will satisfy some of my personal goals,” explained the Luther star.
“It will definitely satisfy the will of a nation. I’m not gonna lie, every corner of the world I go, and I’m talking about different cultures, they always go ‘Bond,’ and I feel it is beyond me at this junction.”
“It’s beyond me. You know, it’s not a question of, should I, do I, will I. It is what the will of the nation dictates sometimes.”
That being said, there’s still a chance you’ll encounter the dashing leading man within the same cinematic universe. Just not as 007.
According to an unidentified inside source who spoke with The Sun, Idris Elba has been engaged in “informal talks” with the studio, the latter of which indicated “there is a role in the next Bond film for him if he wants it.”
“He won’t be the title character, but they do recognise the amount of pull and respect he commands, and they want to work with him on a completely original character for the next instalment,” noted the source.
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“It is still very early days for the conversations but so far, it looks like it would be the role of a villain.”
For the time being, however, the search for the next James Bond is still very much ongoing.
Will it be the rumoured frontrunner Aaron Taylor Johnson, the perenially-linked Richard Madden, or perhaps a dark horse the majority of us haven’t even considered yet?
