Idris Elba Shuts the Door on James Bond Rumors

While the world waits to see who will replace Danny Boyle as director of Bond 25, the conversation about who will follow Daniel Craig as the next James Bond has continued to swirl around the Internet. A recent UK poll found that actor Idris Elba was the fan-favorite choice to be the next 007, but after trying to let fans down softly, the actor had to finally just shut the coffin door on the continued rumor that he and Bond franchise producers had worked something out.

Good Morning Britain had a chance to get in a Bond question for Elba while he was on the red carpet for his directorial debut, Yardie. Interviewer Divya Kohli tried presenting Elba with a martini, asking him whether he preferred it shaken or stirred; Elba’s witty reply was that he preferred it “stir fried, actually.”

Kohli persisted, asking the question in no uncertain terms, “Am I looking at the next 007?” To which Elba responded with a resounding “No.” So if there were any lingering questions or speculation about an Idris Elba version of James Bond, they’re pretty much dead and buried. For now.

All of the talk of Daniel Craig’s Bond successor has admittedly been a little premature; back when Craig’s return for Bond 25 was still waiting to be confirmed, it was reported that he would likely be coming back for Bond 25 and 26. Even if it turns out to just be Bond 25, we’re still nearly half a decade from now until when we would first see the new Bond debut onscreen. That’s all to say: there’s still a lot of time for Elba’s career to veer in that direction – should that be the direction producers choose to go in.

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli may indeed be the key to all of this. Boyle left Bond 25 over creative differences – either with the producers, Craig, or both. The Bond producers were the ones who initially fueled speculation that Idris had been tapped for the role, which Elba eventually downplayed with a tweet reading “Don’t believe the HYPE…” Of course, that only made fans believe that HYPE was a secret code for the evil organization that Elba’s Bond would battle – hence why Elba is dropping all air of playfulness, and is now shutting the rumors down hard.

Bond 25 is slated for release on Nov. 8, 2019.