Luther and The Wire star Idris Elba has long been the ideal next James Bond for some of 007’s vocal fan base, but the actor has now confirmed that he was never in the running to step into the iconic British spy’s shoes.cnx.cmd.push(function() {cnx({playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530",}).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796");});In a new interview with People at the premiere of his new movie, Masters of the Universe, Elba reacted to the notion that his name was once again being suggested for Bond as Amazon seeks to follow up on the success of the Daniel Craig era, saying, “My name’s not getting thrown out, no way. They’re going younger. And I wish them all the luck of the world. I can’t wait — it’s going to be amazing.”Elba added, “I’m honestly not in the race ever. I wasn’t in the race in the first place.”The Hackney-born actor and DJ previously told the Smartless podcast in 2023 that he felt “super complimented” by the persistent rumors that he might be the next James Bond, noting that the role is “one of those sort of coveted types” but that the ensuing cultural conversation about the character’s race had disheartened him.“Essentially, it was a huge compliment that every corner of the world — except for some corners, which we will not talk about — were really happy about the idea that I could be considered,” he said. “Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race. It became about nonsense, and I got the brunt of it.”Amazon MGM Studios officially announced earlier this month that it was searching for a new James Bond, stating that it doesn’t plan to comment on specific casting details but is “excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”Denis Villeneuve (Dune) is attached to direct the film, with Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) penning the script.The post Idris Elba Finally Shuts Down James Bond Rumors appeared first on Den of Geek.