Idris Elba Jokes About James Bond Rumors in 'SNL' Sketch

The possibility of Idris Elba playing James Bond has intrigued the nerd world for several years [...]

The possibility of Idris Elba playing James Bond has intrigued the nerd world for several years now, and it looks like the actor isn't afraid to poke fun at that.

During Elba's recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, the actor participated in a sketch called "Can I Play That?", a game show in which actors have to guess which roles Twitter thinks they're allowed to play. Elba's character, David, became increasingly-confused by the game as it went along, which only made the sketch's final moments more amusing.

The game show's host (played by Kenan Thompson) threw the fake show over to commercial, saying that when the show returned, the final round would be about whether or not each contestant could play James Bond. Elba chimed in that he thought he knew the answer to that one, to which Thompson replied: "Do you?"

This, of course, is a reference to the rumors and theories about Elba taking on the role, which began after comments in a leaked email from Sony exec Amy Pascal. Elba has addressed the speculation in some interesting ways over the years, initially shooting down the possibility.

"If I'm really honest, man, I think I'm too old for that." Elba said back in 2016. "I can't be running around in cars and ladies and martinis - who wants to do that? It sounds terrible!"

The rumor mill was ignited once again in the summer of 2018 by a reported conversation between director Antoine Fuqua and Bond producer Barbara Broccoli. Later that month, the report was debunked. But even then, it's clear that producers of the franchise have pretty positive feelings toward Elba.

"I always say, it's like asking a woman who's going up the aisle on her wedding day who her next husband is going to be," Broccoli joked back in 2015. "You know, Daniel Craig is Bond, and I don't want to think about what happens when he goes. But I'm a huge fan of Idris -- we all are. He's a great actor, and he could do anything. So ask me when we're looking for a new Bond -- which hopefully won't be for a long time."

Do you want to see Idris Elba play James Bond? And what do you think of him "addressing" it on SNL? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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