Speculation surrounding the next actor to play James Bond has been reignited after Idris Elba posted a teasing social media clip that sent his fanbase into a frenzy.
The Video That Set the Internet Alight
On Saturday 22 December 2025, the 53-year-old British actor took to his official TikTok account with a tongue-in-cheek video filmed at the famous Madame Tussauds waxwork museum. The clip, set to the iconic James Bond theme music, panned across wax figures of previous 007 actors before finally landing on Elba himself, who stood posing at the end of the line as if he were the next in the sequence.
Elba captioned the playful post "Wifey made me do it...", but fans were quick to interpret it as a major hint about his future. The moment immediately set social media platforms alight, with countless comments flooding in declaring the Luther star the perfect successor to Daniel Craig.
Reactions ranged from hopeful pleas like "Next James Bond pls" to emphatic statements such as "Not just the Bond we want… the Bond we NEED." The video successfully stoked the long-running rumours that have followed Elba for years.
Bookies' Favourites Tell a Different Story
Despite being a perennial fan favourite, the high street bookmakers currently tell a very different tale. According to odds aggregation site OddsChecker, Idris Elba is not among the top contenders.
Callum Turner, actor and fiancé to singer Dua Lipa, is the current frontrunner with odds of 10/11. He is closely followed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson at 3/1, with James Nelson-Joyce and Theo James also ranking highly. Surprisingly, Elba sits far down the list in 34th place with odds of 50/1, behind other notable names like Tom Holland, Cillian Murphy, and Robert Pattinson.
This is in stark contrast to Elba's proven box office draw; his films have collectively earned more than $9.8 billion globally, placing him among the world's top 20 highest-grossing actors.
Elba's Future Leans Towards Directing
Adding another layer to the story, Idris Elba has recently signalled a significant career shift. Speaking at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia earlier in December, the actor revealed his plans to step away from acting in the near future to focus on directing.
"I'm hoping that my fan base as an actor isn't mad at me, but eventually I want to transfer to be a director fully," Elba stated. He explained that while he still loves acting, directing allows him to "flex slightly different muscles."
He even admitted to sometimes feeling like "an imposter" among world leaders and politicians, suggesting he might "go back to school." At the festival, he was promoting his new short film Dust To Dreams, his second directorial project.
While the dream of seeing Idris Elba as 007 remains fervently alive for millions of fans, his own career ambitions and the cold calculus of the bookmakers suggest that the iconic role may ultimately go to another suitor.
