Let’s make it clear up front: Idris Elba would be an amazing James Bond. It’s likewise high time that we had a person of color as the super-spy (yes, the character’s intrinsically white in the original novels, purists, but the book version also hasn’t changed his face six times, has he?). Nevertheless, the actor has made abundantly clear by this point that he’s really not all that interested in becoming the seventh 007, despite what the entire internet wants.
Nevertheless, we know that Bond producers have actively discussed his name in conjunction with the franchise’s future now that Daniel Craig has sailed into the sunset — or been blown up into tiny bits, as the case may be. Plus, Elba has become so connected with the Bond brand that it would be a crime if he never actually got to appear in a Bond movie. So, yes, Elba should definitely make an appearance in Bond 26. But not as the secret agent himself. And not as the villain of the piece either.
The fact of the matter is that EON can’t keep turning to the Ian Fleming novels for ideas, partly because nearly all the good stuff’s already been used and also because much of what remains is rather uncomfortably dated. Instead, producers should use more contemporary Bond media as source material for the films, specifically – the largely terrific Dynamite comic books. One innovation these comics made in bringing Bond into the modern-day is depicting M, 007’s boss, as Black.
Ralph Fiennes was a wonderful M for the tail-end of the Craig era, but the MI6 chief needs to be revamped alongside the next Bond, and casting Elba would be the best way of doing that. At 50 years old, the star could bring a mature but still younger vibe to the part; it’s easy to imagine Elba’s M being a grizzled former 00 agent himself who has risen through the ranks. Judi Dench’s M was very much a mother figure to her Bonds. An Elba M could be a father figure to the next one.
And if that next one turns out to be played by Regé-Jean Page, I will be totally fine with that, but that’s a casting pitch for another time.