Idris Elba Says He Will Not Be the Next James Bond

After years of buildup and anticipation, Idris Elba squashed the dreams of every James Bond fan who thought he would end up playing 007.

Speculation over who would succeed Daniel Craig as the next James Bond once Craig is finished with Bond 25 ramped up recently, fueled by a Bond-themed social media post from Elba himself. But at the premiere for the 45-year-old’s directorial debut Yardie, he gave a definite “no” when asked about the rumors.

When asked by Good Morning Britain if they were looking at the next Bond, Elba flatly replied, “No.” Just earlier in the interview, he dodged the question by telling the reporter, who asked if he liked his martinis shaken or stirred, that he preferred them “stir-fried, thank you.”

After a report surfaced saying a Bond producer mentioned Elbas’ name when considering who could fill Craig’s shoes, Elba took to social media with a playful photo of the top of his head with a caption that read, “my name’s Elba, Idris Elba.”

Fans who wanted to believe the rumors churning for years wanted to take the tweet as a hint that perhaps all the talk might be true. After all, he did say in 2014 that playing the potential role would be “an honor.”

“I mean, what do we have to do here? We have to wear beautiful suits, drive nice cars, chase bad guys and date beautiful women? I dunno, sounds good to me,” he told CNN at the time.

But the same day he shared the Bond-themed selfie, he told his Twitter followers, “Don’t believe the HYPE,” hinting that they should no longer cling to the idea that he’d be the next Bond.

Now, after his definitive “no” to Good Morning Britain, it sounds like fans should disregard the rumor once and for all.

Former Bond star Pierce Brosnan had previously endorsed Elba as the next Bond, although he ultimately threw support behind Tom Hardy in June 2018.

Craig, who has played James Bond in four Bond movies (Casino Royale, 2006; Quantum of Solace, 2008; Skyfall, 2012; and Spectre, 2015) is set to star in one final Bond film before giving up the titular role.

Production on Bond 25 is expected to begin in December, producer Barbara Broccoli and EON Productions’ Michael G. Wilson told The Guardian earlier this summer.

“We are delighted to announce that the exceptionally talented Danny Boyle will be directing Daniel Craig in his fifth outing as James Bond in the 25th installment of the franchise,” they said. “We will begin shooting Bond 25 at Pinewood Studios in December with our partners at MGM and are thrilled that Universal will be our international distributor.”

On Tuesday, the film lost Danny Boyle as its director, Broccoli and Wilson announced, saying that Boyle left the movie due to “creative differences.”