Idris Elba in renewed talks to play James Bond

Idris Elba is back in the running to play James Bond. The “Luther” actor was believed to have stepped back from replacing Daniel Craig as the suave spy and had spoken to producers about potentially appearing as the villain in the next movie.

But he’s once again under consideration for the role of 007 after scoring favourably in market research.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Idris has long been in talks to play a role in the next era of James Bond’s story and last year was being considered for a role as an antagonist.

However, talks surrounding him playing the lead have started again as producers realised how popular he would be after carrying out secret market research. He ranked highly among the diverse group of movie buffs invited to participate in it.

“They didn’t want to see him as a nemesis — they want him as the hero.” James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli confirmed earlier this year that Idris had been in the frame for the iconic role.

She said: “We know Idris, I’m friends with him. He’s a magnificent actor. You know, he has been part of the conversation, but it’s always difficult to have a conversation when you have somebody in the seat.