It looks like Idris Elba could be back in the running to play James Bond.
Ever since Daniel Craig hung up his license to kill, speculation over who will play the legendary super-spy next has been rife.
London-born star Elba was a long-time favorite for the role until reports emerged last year that he was being considered as a potential Bond baddie instead.
However, according to a report by The Sun, Elba is now back in talks to play 007 himself after producer's carried out market research that revealed he was still an incredibly popular choice.
"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," a source reportedly told the outlet.
"However, talks surrounding him playing the lead have started again as producers realised how popular he would be after carrying out secret market research," the source continued.
"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," the source concluded.
This is not the first time that Bond producers have mentioned that they'd like to see Elba step into Bond's tuxedo. In January, boss Barbara Broccoli said "he's a magnificent actor" and admitted, "he has been part of the conversation" to Deadline.
As for the Luther star, he's always been up for taking over Bond's license to kill. "James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey," he told Vanity Fair in 2019, adding: "Of course, if someone said to me, 'Do you want to play James Bond?', I'd be like, 'Yeah!'"
That said, Elba is a busy man with a lot of projects already under his belt. He's just finished shooting the feature-length movie of his UK crime drama Luther and is set to help Apple's thriller series Hijack (which he will both produce and star in).
Other favorites who have been touted to take over from Craig since his fifth and final outing as Bond in 'No Time To Die' include Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page, Henry Cavill, Aidan Turner, and Tom Hardy.
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