Idris Elba Doesn't Need James Bond - He Has John Luther
"No Time To Die" marked Daniel Craig's fifth and final time as British superspy James Bond and there has been plenty of speculation over who could take over the role next. However, there has been one specific actor whose name has been on the lips of fans for years.
Idris Elba has built up an extensive acting career since his breakout role as Stringer Bell on HBO's "The Wire," including roles that cross just about every genre imaginable, and many fans have hand-picked the star as the most fitting candidate to play James Bond when the character inevitably returns. However, to hear it from the actor himself, he's fine with the secret agent character that he's already got. Anyone who has seen "Luther: The Fallen Sun," the Netflix sequel to Elba's ongoing BBC series about a maverick London copper, will know that the film ends with Luther being recruited into a secret government program.
With that in mind, when asked about James Bond by The Hollywood Reporter, the actor naturally pivoted to what's next for John Luther instead. "Yeah. It's very early days. We know what we want to do and know what the opportunity is. Honestly, you talk about Bond, but John is my answer to that. He's a mechanism and a character that you can follow through some crazy escapism."
Elba prefers Luther but he's still flattered to be considered for Bond
Being that the latest version of James Bond has been heralded for the darkness that Daniel Craig brought to the character and how the gritty new approach of "Casino Royale" launched a take on the character we had never seen, it ultimately makes perfect sense that Idris Elba would see John Luther as a natural parallel to the superspy.
"John is it. I think he's very relatable, and sometimes you want a good guy to go out to the bad guys and plumb them," the actor explained. "And John's not here to negotiate." He's got that right. In fact, "Luther: The Fallen Sun" saw the titular character in jail for the way that he had overstepped the thin blue line in order to put away dangerous criminals.
All the same, Elba said that he considers himself lucky to be considered for the role of Ian Fleming's iconic superspy, even if commenting on it is no longer his favorite way to handle the matter. "It's a massive compliment. But it does become news, whatever I say. And I have done it a few times and thought, 'Why did I do that?'" the actor recalled.