Casting rumors, speculation and flat-out fact-free conjectures are par for the course in Hollywood when it comes to big-budget franchises that everyone wants to know about and claim some ownership of either from a studio, fan or journalistic perspective. But as ugly as it all can get, there is nothing uglier, frankly, than the English culture of betting on the odds of what actors will play James Bond. Sure, Americans are obsessed with who will play superheroes, but the U.K. takes it to another level with Bond, publishing tons of fake news, wild guesses, and fabrications and goes into some mania about who will play the new 007. I guess he’s their Superman.
And so the talk, after a poorly sourced piece over-exaggerated a claim that Idris Elba MIGHT play James Bond became Idris Elba WILL play the famous spy agent, the internet has gone into a feeding frenzy about why a James Bond should be played by a person of color (great!) and how the franchise should be more diverse (totally). But while these thinkpieces are on point, they are premature and putting the cart before the horse.
Daniel Craig is still James Bond for one more go-round (with director Danny Boyle at the helm), and while the Broccoli producers have been looking ahead to the future and reportedly even meeting with people like Jamie Bell, nothing has been decided yet.
In all the fuss, Idris Elba has responded too. On Twitter, he posted three tweets. One ambiguously a photo of himself (looking like it was taken on a 2003 iMac with those old dated filters), and then two more straightforward captions and images: one of rap group Public Enemy and a nod to their 1998 song, “Don’t Believe The Hype” (written for Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” if anyone is keeping score).
So that’s pretty clear ladies and gentleman. Elba is telling you to not believe the rumors and maybe lower your expectations. Nothing is in motion yet and while, yes, we’re all for Idris Elba as James Bond, let’s lean on facts first which means, we’re likely going to have to wait. One should likely presume this unless news leaks out early: the studio and the Broccoli’s will not want to undermine and or take buzz away from the next James Bond movie. If they’re smart, they don’t reveal who the next 007 is well into that movie is in theaters and has already raked in a done of dough.
Until then, let’s be happy that Danny Boyle and Daniel Craig are going to attempt to close out the Craig-era with a bang. And then, we can all speculate wildly about which man, woman, or child can take over the tux and PPK in future installments.
And since we mentioned it, and it’s damn good, here’s “Don’t Believe the Hype:”
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 12, 2018
Don’t believe the HYPE…
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 12, 2018
