Idris Elba said he was “never in the race” to play James Bond, putting to rest years of speculation around whether the British actor would succeed Daniel Craig as 007.
Since Craig’s final performance as the fictional spy in 2021’s No Time to Die, there had been intense speculation over who would take over his role. Elba’s name had been on nearly every fan casting list, along with Regé-Jean Page, Tom Hardy, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
At the Los Angeles premiere of Masters of the Universe last week, Elba dismissed the suggestion that he remained in contention as Amazon MGM Studios began searching for the next Bond actor.
“My name’s not getting thrown out, no way,” the Luther star, 53, told People magazine. “They’re going younger. And I wish them all the luck of the world. I can’t wait. It’s going to be amazing.”
“I’m honestly not in the race ever,” he added. “I wasn’t in the race in the first place.”
Longtime James Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced in February 2025 that they had handed over creative control of the spy film series to Amazon.
In September, reports confirmed that Denis Villeneuve, directing the first Bond film of the Amazon era, was looking for an “unknown” actor to play the lead.
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight will write the script for the new film, which is not expected to be released until 2028.
This month, the studio announced the search for Craig’s successor was underway. “While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process,” Amazon MGM said, “we are excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”
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Elba told NPR in 2011 that he would “definitely consider” playing Bond but criticised the way discussion around the role had become focused on race. “I just don’t want to be the Black James Bond,” he said at the time. “Sean Connery wasn’t the Scottish James Bond and Daniel Craig wasn’t the blue-eyed James Bond.”
In 2023, on the SmartLess podcast, Elba described the offer to play the role as “the pinnacle” but said he would never accept the opportunity as it had become “about race”.
“Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race,” he said. “It became about nonsense and I got the brunt of it.”
In 2015, Bond author Anthony Horowitz said he didn’t believe Elba was right for the part and insisted that it was “not a colour issue”.
“For me, Idris Elba is a bit too rough to play the part. It’s not a colour issue. I think he is probably a bit too ‘street’ for Bond. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah,” he told The Daily Mail.
The Independent asked its readers who they thought would make the best Bond. Elba and The Witcher star Henry Cavill were repeatedly suggested as the only actors with the necessary presence and “Bond charisma”, while some named Jack Lowden after his performance in Slow Horses.
Many readers suggested the new films bring back the lighter tone associated with Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan eras as the humour and escapism had disappeared during Craig’s time in the role.