Tom Hanks has weighed in on the hunt for the next 007, telling BBC News that Idris Elba is the man for the job. “Understand this,” he told the outlet, “James Bond has a licence to kill.
I would issue that licence to Idris Elba just based on the work that I’ve seen him do.” Elba has long been the subject of speculation linking him to Ian Fleming’s iconic character.
But he’s also continued to deny any truth to the chatter. His latest film, Luther: The Fallen Sun, released earlier this year and included a scene in which his titular detective refuses a martini.
At the time, he told the Radio Times, “My Bond audition? Oh my God, no! I’ve been saying for years, no… The martini line is a bit cheeky, isn’t it?” Elba also told The Guardian around the Luther release that he remains extremely close to Bond’s producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, but dismissed the idea of them ever offering him the role: “I can’t speak for them, but from my perspective, there’s never been any sort of truth to any of it.
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