Now that Daniel Craig has officially hung up his tux, the hunt is on for the next actor to fill the iconic role on James Bond - and it looks like longtime favorite Idris Elba has been a hot topic for producers.
James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli opened up about the search for their next super spy on The Deadline podcast.
Since Craig gave up his license to kill in 2021's No Time To Die, speculation has been rife about who will play the iconic secret agent next.
Elba's name has been consistently tossed into the ring along with the likes of Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, Tom Hiddleston, and Jamie Dornan.
But the Luther actor may have just edged out his competition. From the sounds of it, he's been spoken about a fair bit among Bond bosses Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
"We know Idris, I'm friends with him, and he's a magnificent actor," Broccoli told podcast host Anthony D'Alessandro. "You know, it's been part of the conversation, but it's always difficult to have the conversation when you have someone in the seat."
She went on to say that they'd been holding fire on casting the new Bond until Craig was well and truly out of the picture.
"I think we have decided that until No Time to Die has had its run, and Daniel has been able to – well, we've all been able to savor, reap the benefits of Daniel's wonderful tenure, we're not going to think about, or talk about, anybody else, actors to play the role, or storylines, or anything really. We just want to live in the moment, present," she said.
This isn't the first time that Broccoli - who shares control of the Bond franchise with her half-brother Wilson - has dropped hints about the next Bond.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last December, she revealed that they were definitely looking for a man - but that that man could be of any ethnicity.
"I think it will be a man because I don't think a woman should play James Bond," she said.
"I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men's roles. I don't think there are enough great roles for women, and it’s very important to me that we make movies for women about women."
The producer added: "He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race]."
Though Elba certainly fits the bill, only time will tell if he really is the producer's pick to don Bond's tux.