Anyone dreaming of Idris Elba sipping martinis - shaken, not stirred - on the silver screen had their hopes raised, then dashed by the actor as he responded to rumours he's being considered for the role.
"My name's Elba, Idris Elba," the star tweeted alongside a front-camera selfie. A simple move, that sent fans into a frenzy, with Elba's Twitter mentions already dreaming up the perfect 007 outing for him - Gillian Anderson, of course, has already been suggested as a future Bond girl.
However, hours later, Elba followed his tweet up with: "Don't believe the HYPE". And fans didn't take the news too well, tweeting the likes of "Are HYPE the criminal organisation you have to take down, 007?" and "This is a clear allusion to Public Enemy, and one line of the song goes, 'Don’t believe the hype, it’s a sequel.'"
"The next Bond movie is, of course, a sequel. Therefore we can conclude Elba is the next Bond." Who's going to break it to them?
The rumours rose out reports that Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli had announced that the door is open for a black 007 in the future, once Daniel Craig completes his final outing as the spy, with Idris Elba marked out as a potential favourite to fill those iconic shoes.
Danny Boyle will direct the next, Daniel Craig-starring Bond installment, with work having already begun on the script with Trainspotting scribe John Hodge.
Eon productions heads Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli called the director “exceptionally talented” in a statement, while the head of US distributor MGM said: ”We couldn’t be more thrilled than to bring the next 007 adventure to the big screen, uniting the incomparable Daniel Craig with the extraordinary vision of Danny Boyle.”
Craig revealed he would return to the iconic role last August, having previously played Bond four times: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre.
The film is scheduled to reach UK cinemas on the 25 October 2019.
Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more.
