Idris Elba is 'part of the conversation' as the search for the next James Bond gets underway, the franchise's producer has confirmed.
Following Daniel Craig's final outing as 007 in No Time To Die, speculation has once again been mounting over who could be next to don the famous tuxedo, with Elba's name constantly emerging as one of the fan-favourite choices.
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Now, the woman who controls the future of the franchise has revealed that Elba has been in contention for the role since even before Craig officially stepped down.
Speaking on Deadline's Crew Call podcast, Eon Productions head Barbara Broccoli admitted that the producers had had conversations with him in the past, saying, 'Well, we know Idris, we're friends with him, and he's a magnificent actor... it's been part of the conversation but it's always difficult to have the conversation when you have someone in the seat.'
Responding to questions over which criteria were currently in place when it comes to looking for a new Bond, Broccoli admitted that they were likely to stick with a male Bond, but said that aside from that, there was only one facet of the character that was set in stone.
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'We want the actor to be British. [That's] the key thing,' she said. 'And British, as we know, can be many, many things.'
Yet with No Time Do Die still fresh off its successful $774 million global box office run, the producers are understandably taking a breath to take stock of Craig's iconic five-film run before moving on to their plans for the future.
'I think we have decided that until No Time To Die has had its run and Daniel has been able to... well, we've all been able to savour [and] reap the benefits of Daniel's wonderful tenure, we're not gonna think about, or talk about anybody else, actors to play the role or storylines,' Broccoli said, adding, 'We just want to live in the moment.'
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Elba is one of a number of prominent British actors whose names have been thrown into the ring already to take on the iconic role, with the likes of Henry Cavill, Tom Hiddleston and Richard Madden also cropping up time and again in conversations.
But, as Broccoli's brother Michael G. Wilson told the podcast, it's a brave actor who will sign up to follow the man that many have dubbed the best Bond ever.
'I think we will have a challenge in trying to continue on but we have set the bar high and I think it is a challenge we will have to face,' he said.
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Topics: Daniel Craig, Idris Elba, James Bond, Film and TV