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The \u201cThree Thousand Years of Longing\u201d actor continued to shut down rumors that he will be playing 007 in the next iteration of the franchise during an appearance on \u201cThe Shop\u201d podcast alongside\u00a0Drew Barrymore and Kyrie Irving.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not a goal for my career,\u201d Elba said of playing the famed MI6 agent (via\u00a0Mediaite). \u201cI don\u2019t think that you know, playing Bond will satisfy some of my personal goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elba continued, \u201cIt will definitely satisfy the will of a nation. I\u2019m not gonna lie, every corner of the world I go, and I\u2019m talking about different cultures, they always go \u2018Bond,\u2019 and I feel it is beyond me at this junction. It\u2019s beyond me. You know, it\u2019s not a question of, should I, do I, will I. It is what the will of the nation dictates sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The actor, who turns 50 today, claimed that he is \u201cnot that guy\u201d to be Bond, in his opinion. Elba would be the first Black James Bond if he signed on for the role.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not that guy, but in everyone\u2019s world I might be,\u201d Elba added. \u201cAnd that \u2014 job done, because the truth is, you know, a lot of people are really seeing Idris playing Bond as the \u2018alternative Bond.\u2019 And as long as that alternative is existing, that\u2019s great for the growth of fucking casting.\u201d<\/p>\n
In short, Elba questioned his fellow podcast guests and hosts Paul Rivera and Maverick Carter.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me throw the question out to you guys: If you are of the agreement that you think that I should play it, can you ask yourselves why and really answer why you think I should play it?\u201d Elba stated. \u201cDo you think that there\u2019s a nostalgia \u2014 and be honest, there\u2019s a nostalgia to the idea. I shouldn\u2019t say nostalgia. There\u2019s an allure to the idea of me being the first Black man to play that character?\u201d<\/p>\n
Producer Barbara Broccoli previously stated that the next Bond could be\u00a0any ethnicity or race\u00a0but\u00a0distinctly male\u00a0and British.<\/p>\n
However, the film is\u00a0at least two years away, with other names like Reg\u00e9-Jean Page, Tom Hardy, and Jacob Elordi rumored to be in the mix. Broccoli said that deciding who should be the next Bond is a \u201cbig decision\u201d for the direction of the franchise, now owned by Amazon since the conglomerate purchased MGM.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just casting a role. It\u2019s about a whole rethink about where we\u2019re going,\u201d Broccoli said, as reports speculated Elba, Hardy, Henry Cavill, and \u201cEuphoria\u201d star Elordi were on the shortlist for the role. Broccoli specifically shared that Elba has been \u201cpart of the conversation\u201d for years.<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cWe\u2019re working out where to go with him, we\u2019re talking that through. There isn\u2019t a script, and we can\u2019t come up with one until we decide how we\u2019re going to approach the next film because, really, it\u2019s a reinvention of Bond. We\u2019re reinventing who he is, and that takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n