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Topics: Film and TV, James Bond, Idris Elba, Daniel Craig
Joe Harker
Topics: Film and TV, James Bond, Idris Elba, Daniel Craig
John Boyega has said it would be 'very surprising' to him if a black actor was cast to play James Bond.
The search is on for the next actor to play 007 after Daniel Craig's time in the role came to an explosive and extremely final end in No Time To Die.
While Craig isn't coming back for more the character of James Bond is likely going nowhere in a hurry as the second longest running franchise in movie history (Godzilla has the top spot) is still big at the box office.
The big question over Bond's future now is who will suit up as the superspy for the next movie, whenever that comes, and John Boyega has said he doesn't think Bond will be black.
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Boyega had previously said he'd be interested in becoming Bond, suggesting that with a director like Steve McQueen helming the movie they could 'show them something different' and 'still bring that sophistication'.
However, he recently downplayed that connection after saying he didn't expect the role to go to a black actor.
Speaking to Josh Horowitz for the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Boyega was asked about the possibility of playing 007 himself one day and said he didn't believe they'd go in that direction.
He said: "I'm sorry but I’m black, I don't know how. When you're black, I don't know how that goes.
"You as a white man are living in a society where you grew up with Bond as a white man and that's normal. That's normal to you. Even the mention of a black Bond to me is like 'oh, okay'.
"If that’s what they're doing then that is very surprising to me. As an actor, you kind of just stay out of that conversation, if it's for you then maybe you know. But if it's not then you just enjoy it in a movie theatre like everyone else."
While Boyega has been linked with potentially becoming Bond, so too has pretty much every British actor who can wear a suit so at this point rumours mean very little.
Casting for the next Bond is going to depend on the direction producers want to take the franchise in after Daniel Craig's tenure.
One of the most popular choices people have as the next Bond is Idris Elba, and there's always been a lot of hype around him as the actor with the potential to be the first black Bond.
According to Barbara Broccoli, head of Eon Productions and the hand steering the James Bond franchise, he's been 'part of the conversation' to replace Daniel Craig after his Bond was blown to smithereens at the end of No Time To Die.
She described Elba as a 'magnificent actor' and said it was always difficult to discuss who the next 007 might be when there was someone already in the role, but now that spot is vacant it could be his chance.
Broccoli said the 'key thing' for the next Bond would be that they were British, which she said 'can be many, many things'.
Elba himself has previously batted away claims he's next in the pipeline to be Bond, saying he had 'nothing to say' about rumours linking him with the role.
According to the bookies, The Witcher and Man of Steel star Henry Cavill is the favourite to become the next Bond, while Elba and Bridgerton heartthrob Rege-Jean Page are the next most popular choices.
Boyega himself is on the list but his odds of landing the role as the world's greatest secret agent are pretty long, seemingly making him an unlikely choice.
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