UPDATE: Saturday, Sept. 5 (4:13 p.m. ET) – If Idris Elba does wind up becoming cast as the next James Bond, he says it will be because his fans made it happen.
“If human beings want to know if there’s any connectivity between all of us, the one thing I’ve heard around the world universally is that, ‘You’ll be great at James Bond!'” the actor tells Variety. “If it should happen, that’s proof there’s connectivity amongst human beings. If everyone wants something, they can make it happen. That would be true.”
He clarified, however, that there have been zero discussions about him becoming Bond: “It’s all rumour-ville.I’m not speaking to the James Bond people. They are not speaking to me. So if it was to happen, there you go — the will of the nation.”
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Rumours have been swirling for some time that Idris Elba will take over from Daniel Craig as the next James Bond, but the author of a new 007 novel says he doesn’t think the Luther star has what it takes to work In Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
In an interview in The Daily Mail, writer Anthony Horowitz (who was hand-picked by the Bond estate to write a new adventure featuring Ian Fleming’s iconic super-spy), says he just doesn’t see Elba in the role.
“Idris Elba is a terrific actor, but I can think of other black actors who would do it better,” he says. “Idris Elba is a bit too rough to play the part. It’s not a colour issue. I think he is probably a bit too ‘street’ for Bond. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah.”
In addition, Horowitz admits he’s also no fan of the recent Bond flicks, saying that while he enjoyed Casino Royale (Craig’s debut in the role), he thought the follow-up films took a wrong turn.
“Quantum of Solace just went wrong,” he gripes, adding that Skyfall stumbled even more.
Hopefully the author will have better feelings about Craig’s fourth outing as 007, Spectre, slated for release this fall.
After his comments went viral, Horowitz took to Twitter to admit he was “mortified” by the way his comments came across:
https://twitter.com/AnthonyHorowitz/status/638757024000557056/
But fans of Elba need not worry, the actor took to his Instagram to make sure his fans know despite the negative comments, he’s still “smiling”.
https://instagram.com/p/7GtPfvzGHh/
Watch as ET Canada’s Roz Weston weighs in on the controversy.
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