Idris Elba As James Bond? Sony Executives Want Him To Be First Black 007

The latest revelation to have emerged courtesy of the Sony hacking scandal has revealed who might be replacing Daniel Craig as James Bond. And that man is Idris Elba.

If that actually occurs, then the Wire and Luther actor would be the first black thespian to play the iconic spy. Leaked emails that were hacked by the Guardians of Peace during their attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment have revealed that the studio’s co-chairman, Amy Pascal, wants Idris Elba to play James Bond when Daniel Craig finishes in the role.

Amy Pascal sent an email on January 4, 2014 to the former executive vice president of production for Columbia Pictures, Elizabeth Cantillon, that simply stated, “Idris should be the next bond.” Columbia Pictures is the studio that distributes each edition of the Bond films.

The James Bond franchise is widely regarded as Sony’s most esteemed property. Several previous emails that have been released by Guardians of Peace have revolved around the upcoming 24th installment to the series, Spectre, which will be released on November 6, 2015.

We previously learned that Blofeld will be the villain in the film, while its alleged budget is also believed to have risen to around $300 million. Meanwhile, the script for Spectre has also been leaked.

This isn’t the first time that Idris Elba has been linked to the role of James Bond. As recently as September, Elba was asked during a Reddit Ask Me Anything question and answer session, “If it were offered to you, would you be the next James Bond?”

Elba then responded, “Yes, if it was offered to me, absolutely.”

Jamie Foxx also told the Daily Beast while promoting The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that he could imagine Idris Elba portraying the character.

“I ran into Idris and I said, ‘You know you’re the motherf*****’ James Bond, right?'” Foxx declared.

Idris Elba won’t actually be offered the role for a few more years yet though. Daniel Craig is currently hard at work filming Spectre ahead of its release at the end of next year, and he is also contracted to appear in one more James Bond film.

Age might be a factor in this decision though. It’s safe to say that the next James Bond film without Daniel Craig won’t be released until at least 2019, and by that point he will be 47-years-old, which some would say would be too old for him to start playing the character.

[Image via Comic Book Resources]