Idris Elba was originally rumored as the next James Bond in late 2014 when hacked emails indicated that then-Sony Pictures chief Amy Pascal wanted him to fill the role. Today, at 43 years old, many fans believe Idris Elba is too old to portray 007. While it hasn’t been proven that the actor is definitively through, there have been a lot of conflicting reports about several possible candidates for the Bond film, with Idris Elba being one of the most prominent. However, it is true that he is older than other candidates who have emerged for the role. Here are the specifics:
Idris Elba as the new James Bond:
Upon Daniel Craig’s departure with No Time to Die earlier this year, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli revealed that Idris Elba was already being considered for the position. Broccoli noted at the time that she is friends with Idris Elba and that he is a fantastic actor. She also mentioned that his role as 007 has long been a topic of discussion, but never come to fruition for several reasons. An insider reportedly stated, “Idris has long been in talks to play a role in the next era of James Bond’s story and last year was being considered for a role as an antagonist. However, talks surrounding him playing the lead have started again as producers realized how popular he would be after carrying out secret market research. He ranked highly among the diverse group of movie buffs invited to participate in it. They didn’t want to see him as a nemesis, they want him as the hero”.
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Idris Elba on the topic of discussion:
When it comes to Elba playing the next Bond, many fans have been in favor of it, claiming that it’s time for a black actor to fill the part. Elba has addressed the topic, noting the controversy and voicing his concern about being the focus of it. He previously explained, “If someone said to me ‘Do you want to play James Bond?,’ I’d be like, Yeah! That’s fascinating to me. But it’s not something I’ve expressed, like, ‘Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond.'” He added, “You just get disheartened when you get people from a generational point of view going, ‘It can’t be.’ And it really turns out to be the color of my skin. And then if I get it and it didn’t work, or it did work, would it be because of the color of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put me into when I don’t need to”.
Related: Idris Elba is ‘Discouraged’ By Conversation Around Black James Bond – Animated Times
Fan response to the new Bond casting:
Following these casting speculations, there have been many positive and negative audience reactions to the rumors. A Twitter user, Crypto-Knight said, “He can be 007 but not James Bond for obvious reason. I would still prefer Henry Cavill though”. According to @Alans’ point of view, Ebba receiving the part would be a shame. His explanation was that, although being a fine actor, Elba lacked the physical charisma needed to be Bond. He also recommended that if the producers were pressed for time, they should go with Cavill. Reinforcing similar points, social media user Dai Geeza claimed that Elba should’ve been Bond 5 years ago. @DavidPengram also said, “Elba turns 50 in a few months and would likely be 52 when filming starts…at the earliest. He is too old, unless he is a one-off, like Lazenby”.
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