Sorry, Idris Elba fans: the actor just shot down talk that he will be the next James Bond.
At Tuesday’s premiere of his directorial debut, “Yardie,” Elba was asked by “Good Morning Britain” if he would be Daniel Craig’s successor as 007.
“No,” he said.
Yes, just two weeks ago, the actor himself fueled the fire by tweeting “my name’s Elba, Idris Elba” — an obvious reference to Bond’s signature line. But as of today, it looks like that joke is as close as he’ll get.
Elba has been the subject of frequent 007-related speculation for almost a decade. As far back as 2011, he told NPR “I just don’t want to be the black James Bond. Sean Connery wasn’t the Scottish James Bond, and Daniel Craig wasn’t the blue-eyed James Bond, so if I played him, I don’t want to be called the black James Bond.”
For now, it’s a moot question, as Daniel Craig is set to return as 007 in the still-untitled 25th “Bond” film, which has a planned release date in 2019. Though whether the film makes that release window depends on how fast it can find a director, since Danny Boyle stepped down this week over “creative differences.”
Watch the video above.