--- description: It has been rumored for almost a decade that Idris Elba was in line to play 007 title: Idris Elba Confirms He Won’t Be the Next James Bond image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc62235333443f311/69893873ab6d77d73d6b37c5/gettyimages-1020913360.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Idris Elba Confirms He Won’t Be the Next James Bond by [Derek Lawrence / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Derek Lawrence / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 23, 2018 1:53 AM CUT  Idris Elba attends the U.K. premiere of 'Yardie' at BFI Southbank on Aug. 21, 2018 in London, England. Idris Elba attends the U.K. premiere of 'Yardie' at BFI Southbank on Aug. 21, 2018 in London, England.Photo by Samir Hussein—WireImage/Getty Images by [Derek Lawrence / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Derek Lawrence / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 23, 2018 1:53 AM CUT Not only did James Bond just [lose his director](https://ew.com/movies/2018/08/21/danny-boyle-leaves-bond-25/ "undefined"), but he’s now apparently lost the people’s choice to take on the iconic role. After almost a decade of rumors that Idris Elba was in line to play 007, the [speculation recently ramped](https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/722149/james-bond-idris-elba-first-black-007-barbara-broccoli-luther-daniel-craig "undefined") up once again and was even [fueled by the 45-year-old actor](https://ew.com/movies/2018/08/12/idris-elba-james-bond-rumors-cheeky-tweets/ "undefined") on social media. But, at Tuesday’s premiere for his directorial debut _Yardie_, Elba definitively said he won’t be Daniel Craig’s successor. When asked by _Good Morning Britain_ if they were looking at the next Bond, Elba flatly replied, “No.” Craig is set to drink another martini in next year’s _Bond 25_, which [lost director Danny Boyle](https://ew.com/movies/2018/08/21/danny-boyle-leaves-bond-25/ "undefined") on Tuesday due to “creative differences.” And while Elba won’t portray Bond, fans will still get to see him as a popular British law enforcement character. Later this year, the actor returns for a fifth installment of _Luther_, the BBC series that has earned him four Emmy nominations. Watch the full video above. _This_ [_article_](https://ew.com/movies/2018/08/22/idris-elba-no-james-bond/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Ew.com_](http://www.ew.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5375437/idris-elbra-james-bond/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5375437/idris-elbra-james-bond/"},"headline":"Idris Elba Confirms He Won’t Be the Next James Bond","datePublished":"2018-08-23T01:53:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:13:48.782Z","description":"It has been rumored for almost a decade that Idris Elba was in line to play 007","url":"https://time.com/5375437/idris-elbra-james-bond/","keywords":["movies","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc62235333443f311/69893873ab6d77d73d6b37c5/gettyimages-1020913360.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Derek Lawrence / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc62235333443f311/69893873ab6d77d73d6b37c5/gettyimages-1020913360.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-1020913360","caption":"Idris Elba attends the U.K. premiere of 'Yardie' at BFI Southbank on Aug. 21, 2018 in London, England.","creditText":"Photo by Samir Hussein—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5375437/idris-elbra-james-bond/","name":"Idris Elba Confirms He Won’t Be the Next James Bond"}}]}] ```