Idris Elba calls James Bond rumours an “honour”, but not the “truth”
Star of Luther: The Fallen Sun, Idris Elba, has batted-away long-standing murmurs that he is next in line to take on the role of James Bond.
The conversation came about after the actor sat down with The Guardian to discuss his leading role in the action movie adaptation of the TV series Luther. A government-funded crime fighter, Luther shares several similarities to Bond, with the brand new film channelling the bombastic energy of a classic 1990s 007 adventure, still, Elba states that his link to taking on the role of the iconic movie character is: “a compliment and it’s an honour, but it’s not a truth”.
“I love the Bond franchise,” Elba continued, “I’m very close to the producers. We were all kind of laughing about the rumours because they are just that”. Stating that serious discussions between the Bond producers and him never came close, the filmmaker added: “I can’t speak for them, but from my perspective, there’s never been any sort of truth to any of it”.
With Elba deep into his role as John Luther, there’s no reason why the actor would want to take on the role of Bond, after all, the two characters may as well be one and the same. Comparing the two characters and media franchises, Elba explains: “These are solitary figures that go off and have conviction and style and grace, take out the bad guy. But I think with John there’s a sort of grounded relatability. That’s the space where I think I can take this franchise further and deeper”.
The most recent Bond movie, No Time to Die, was released in 2021 and featured Daniel Craig in his final 007 installment before he handed the baton over to a yet-undecided actor. The film concluded in a rather odd manner for the series, with Bond failing to escape the exploding laboratory ‘just in time’, instead meeting his demise in the smouldering wreck.
Take a look at the trailer for Idris Elba’s latest outing as John Luther in Luther: The Fallen Sun below.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.