The contest to see who will become the next James Bond once Daniel Craig leaves the scene after 2021’s No Time To Die is still a hot topic of conversation as we head into the new year. A surprising party has now weighed in on who they think the next 007 actor should be: actor/director, and all around good guy, George Clooney. But don’t go thinking that he’s penciled himself in for the role himself, as Clooney recused himself from the running for two very important reasons. Well, three if you count the fact that he thinks Idris Elba should get the job.
We've learned via The Irish Examiner that while speaking with radio host Mark Wright, Clooney was asked what he would say should a potential offer to star in the Bond franchise were sent his way. The man running the show behind and in front of the camera on Netflix’s The Midnight Sky, Clooney laughed off the prospect and said he’d flat out reject it. His explanation why is pretty solid, as it all adds up to the following:
First of all because, I’ll be 60 this year so it’s a little late for the Bond thing. Second of all, Bond should be a Brit don’t you think? I mean properly. It just feels wrong. … The closest thing I’ve ever done to any kind of hero like that was Batman and we saw how that turned out.
Oh George, always ready to throw out the Batman jokes, as well as a fan favorite pick for who should adopt the Bond legacy as their own. Mr. Clooney suggested that none other than often-suggested Idris Elba should slip into the tuxedo on behalf of her majesty, which is quite refreshing after the field of betting odds has seen Mr. Elba resting in a mid-field standing quite regularly. With No Time To Die looking to be the James Bond movie that “changes everything,” Idris Elba’s casting would definitely fit the bill, and George Clooney believe it’s his turn, as he shared the following statement on Mark Wright’s show:
He’s elegant, I think he’d do a great job of it. That’s who I would’ve cast, sure, absolutely but in general, no I don’t think I should be.
That’s pretty high praise laid on Idris Elba’s potential shoulders as the next incarnation of Ian Fleming’s legendary creation, and the polar antithesis of the days when Elba was once considered by some as “too street” to be the seventh actor as 007. Or rather, the eighth, if the recent No Time To Die developments don’t see the number stay with Lashana Lynch’s Nomi. In either case, this tipping of the hat from George Clooney could see Idris Elba’s standings rising at a local betting firm near you.
While we won’t be seeing George Clooney becoming 007 in any earthly realm of possibility, you can see him trying to save some earthbound astronauts from a terrible fate in Netflix’s The Midnight Sky. The film is currently playing in theatrical release where available, and will debut on the company’s streaming library next Wednesday. Meanwhile, if you want to see Daniel Craig’s 007 swan song in No Time To Die, you’ll naturally have to wait until the planned theatrical release of April 2, 2021. But, as always, James Bond will return to CinemaBlend.
