- Idris Elba has said that rumours of him becoming the next James Bond were not “realistic” due to his race.
- “I’ve always felt that it’s not a realistic thing,” he told GQ, adding: “I think, in realistic terms, some markets just don’t go for that. Bond is big all over the world. And [audiences] won’t [all] go for a Black male, an African male, playing Bond.”
- On whether a Black actor should be cast in the role, Elba said: “Bond is so unrealistic, so a hint of reality is good, but let’s not try and make it woke. I think you’ve got to be pure to what it is: escapism. Don’t try and answer the world’s taste. Just be Bond.”
- Elba previously ruled himself out of the running in 2023. He told the SmartLess podcast: “Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race.”
- Casting director Nina Gold and the forthcoming film’s director, Denis Villeneuve, are currently auditioning actors to play the next James Bond.
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