Idris Elba: I'm not going to play James Bond

Idris Elba insists he has no plans to play James Bond.

Speculation about who will replace Daniel Craig as 007 has been rife for years, and Elba has been one of the front-runners for most of that time.

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Producer Barbara Broccoli even revealed previously that he was in contention, telling Deadline:

"Well, we know Idris, we're friends with him, and he's a magnificent actor. And, you know, it's been a part of the conversation, but it's always difficult to have the conversation when you have someone in the seat."

That actor himself has now ruled himself out of the running, however, and considers the role of John Luther to be his main franchise focus.

"You know, a lot of people talk about another character that begins with 'J' and ends with 'B', but I'm not going to be that guy," he told reporters in Dubai.

"I'm going to be John Luther. That's who I am."

Elba previously admitted on the Jemelle Hill is Unbothered podcast that he is sick of answering questions about Bond.

“I have no more answers for it," he said.

"I just tell people, ‘Aw, don’t ask me that.’ Because a lot of times it’s really lazy journalism. And people try to use it as clickbait like ‘what’s he gonna say this time?’ I try to say the same things.

“Every now and then, I’ll give them some philosophy on why I don’t want to do it or why it’s a rumour. But most times now, I tend not to talk about it.”

Elba will return as Luther in a new Netflix movie titled Luther: The Fallen Sun.

Who will be the next James Bond?

According to bookmaker Oddchecker, there are a number of names who are ahead of Elba in the queue anyway.

The favourite remains Aaron Taylor-Johnson while other actors in the frame include Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rege-Jean Page, Kit Harrington, James Norton and Riz Ahmed.