Idris Elba appears to have mocked continued rumours he is in line to take over as the star of the James Bond franchise, following the latest round of media speculation linking him to the role.

“My name’s Elba, Idris Elba,” the British actor tweeted on Sunday, after his name was once again linked to the role of 007.



Five hours later, he posted an image of Public Enemy, then tweeted “don’t believe the HYPE”, also the name of one of the rap group’s biggest hits.

Elba’s name has been linked to the Bond franchise for almost a decade, during which time Daniel Craig has starred in three films in the series. The latest round of speculation appears to have begun with a report in the Daily Star last week.

It quoted the director Antoine Fuqua recalling a chat with the longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, who allegedly said “it is time” for an minority ethnic actor to star as 007 and that “it will happen eventually”. The story went on to quote Fuqua as saying that Elba could be a candidate to take over.

The story was swiftly followed up by news outlets around the world, despite Fuqua’s agent insisting that the conversation with Broccoli about the future of the Bond franchise never took place and is all “made-up stuff”.

The online version of the Daily Star’s story includes multiple promotions for Fuqua’s new business, selling headphones that can be worn in the cinema in order to provide a surround-sound experience.

Craig, 50, took over from Pierce Brosnan in 2005. He is signed on to play the character in the 25th Bond film, which is due out in late 2019 and will be directed by Danny Boyle.

Elba, 45, has previously dismissed rumours and said he had not had any discussions with the studio about taking over the role. In 2016, he told Good Morning America: “I think I’m too old for that.”

“I keep saying if it were to happen it would be the will of a nation because there haven’t been any talks between me and the studio about any of that,” he said. “Running around in cars and ladies and martinis, who wants to do that? Sounds terrible.”