The race to be the next James Bond is still ongoing after Daniel Craig's departure, and Tom Hanks has now officially cast his vote for Luther star Idris Elba.
At 66 years old, Toy Story star Hanks has been around for every single iteration of 007. Admittedly he was only six years old when the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, came out in 1962, but over the years he's seen the likes of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan all take on the role.
Given that he's also a renowned movie star in his own right, it's probably fair to say that Hanks is familiar with what it might take for an actor to pull off such an iconic character. And with that in mind, he believes Elba is the man for the job.
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The Forrest Gump star had his say on the next Bond while discussing the release of his new book, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, which is inspired by his own career in the film industry.
It tells the story of the making of a multi-million dollar superhero action movie, featuring a range of characters including an eccentric director and a male star.
The legendary British spy gets a mention in the book, so in an interview with the BBC Hanks shared his thoughts on the future of the character.
"Understand this," he said. "James Bond has a licence to kill. I would issue that licence to Idris Elba just based on the work that I've seen him do."
Elba has taken on a lot of action-packed movies throughout his career, including last year's survival movie Beast, the 2019 flick Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and 2021's Suicide Squad.
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Not even Hanks' support might be enough to get the actor on board with playing the spy, though, as Elba has previously hinted that he's not interested.
While speaking about the Luther film sequel, Elba said: "It’s very dark. We’ve been working on the TV show for about 10 years and so the natural ambition is to take it to the big screen, and so we’re here with the first movie.
“You know, a lot of people talk about another character that begins with ‘J’ and ends with ‘B,’ but I’m not going to be that guy. I’m going to be John Luther. That’s who I am.”
Craig hung up his hat on Bond after his appearance in the 2021 film No Time To Die, and his replacement is still yet to be announced.
Featured Image Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo / BBCTopics: James Bond, Tom Hanks, Idris Elba, TV and Film, Celebrity