The race to become James Bond has been frantic ever since Daniel Craig stepped down from the role back in 2021. No Time To Die marked his fifth and final outing as the super spy, and since then the Bond odds have had a few big names in the running, including Idris Elba. However, he has just revealed what he thinks of his own chances of claiming the role.
Elba has been a major contender for years at this point, taking on some of the biggest British stars around, including Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill and Regé-Jean Page. But during a conversation with World Government Summit in Dubai earlier this week, Elba referenced becoming Bond, James Bond, while talking about his upcoming Luther movie. The Netflix picture – Luther: The Fallen Sun – follows ten years of Elba playing the BBC detective.
Elba said of the movie: “It’s very dark. We’ve been working on the television show for about ten years and so the natural ambition is to take it to the big screen, and so we’re here with the first movie.”
The 50-year-old then opened up about ditching Luther for Bond.
In August, Elba said he had “no more answers” for the inevitable “will you be the next Bond?” questions he frequently gets.
He also opened up about the stress the constant casting questions have put on his family.
He explained: “I know the rumours about Bond have always chased me. Listen, my poor mum is like: ‘One day you’re going to get it!’ I was like: ‘Mum, I’m good, I’ve got Luther.'”
At the moment, the frontrunner in the Next James Bond odds is Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The former Marvel hero has a powerful 3/1 on becoming 007 in the near future. These odds were slashed after reports emerged that he had meetings with the Bond bosses behind the scenes.
He isn’t guaranteed to get the role, however. He has the iconic Cavill hot on his heels with a strong 5/2. However, considering he already lost out on the role of James Bond once back in 2005, he may not even want the role.
Meanwhile, newcomer to the race James Norton has recently had his odds slashed after Happy Valley aired. His incredible 7/2 mean he could well be on his way to becoming the spy.
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