Idris Elba the Next James Bond? Actor Responds to Rumors

More information has been unearthed by hackers in Sony, as an email revealed that British Star, Idris Elba is being considered as the new James Bond.

The Independent reported that a leaked email from Sony Picture's chairman of motion pictures group, Amy Pascal simply said, "Idris should be the next Bond."

Fans are pleased, but according to OK! Magazine, more people are less supportive of the news, mainly because Elba is - black.

American Radio host Rush Limbaugh said in his show, "James Bond is a total concept put together by Ian Fleming. He was white and Scottish. Period. That is who James Bond is, was. Now Sony is suggesting that the next James Bond should be Idris Elba, a black Briton rather than a white from Scotland. But that's not who James Bond is."

Limbaugh, however, acknowledged that his opinion may not be so popular, adding that, "I know it's racist to probably even point this out. We had 50 years of white Bonds because Bond is white. Bond was never black."

Elba, who was known for his role in "Mandela" and "Luther" addressed the issue via Twitter on Saturday, as he posted a selfie with the caption, "Isn't 007 supposed to (be) handsome? Glad you think I've got a shot! Happy New Year people."

But this is not the first time that Elba addressed the rumors of being the "black" James Bond. According to Today Online, he also previously said, "I just don't want to be the black James Bond. "Sean Connery wasn't the Scottish James Bond and Daniel Craig wasn't the blue-eyed James Bond, so if I played him, I don't want to be called the black James Bond."

In case he really does get the role as Agent 007, Elba will have to wait a few years to embody the secret agent, however, as Daniel Craig (who played Bond in the last few films) is still contracted to do "Spectre" and the next one after that. However, Craig has already made it clear that he's not willing to star in the franchise for long.

He told Rolling Stone in 2012, "I've been trying to get out of this from the very moment I got into it. But they won't let me go, and I've agreed to do a couple more, but let's see how this one does, because business is business and if the shit goes down, I've got a contract that somebody will happily wipe their ass with."

Craig is currently doing "Spectre" and is signed on for the next James Bond film after that. But the next ones will be up for grabs, and quite possibly, if the leaked emails are to be taken into account, it will be Elba's turn.

Do you think Elba will be a good James Bond, or do you share Limbaugh's sentiments?