Hollywood star Idris Elba, during a recent podcast session, talked about the speculations of him playing the iconic agent 007 James Bond.
‘I’m not gonna lie, every corner of the world I go and I’m talking about different cultures they always go: ‘Bond!,” Elba said. According to Deadline, recently, speculations for the next James Bond started to spread around the corner about who will be the next James Bond after actor Daniel Craig? and actor Idris Elba came to the top to portray 007’s role in the upcoming movie of the secret agent.
Talking about playing Bond on screen Idris further said, “It is not a goal for my career, I don’t think that, you know, playing Bond will satisfy some of my personal goals. It will definitely satisfy the will of a nation,” Elba said, referencing the legions of fans who would like to see him as 007.
“And I feel it is beyond me at this junction. It’s beyond me. You know, it’s not a question of, ‘Should I?,’ ‘Do I?,’ ‘Will I?,’ it is what the will of the nation dictates sometimes,” he added, before speculating that even just the discussion is a good thing, Deadline reported.
“I’m not that guy, but, in everyone’s world I might be. And that job is done. Because the truth is, you know, a lot of people are really seeing Idris playing Bond as the ‘alternative Bond.’ And as long as that alternative is existing, that’s great for the growth of casting,” Elba added.
As per Deadline, James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli earlier this year that the search for the next star who’ll drive the franchise’s iconic Aston Martin is still far off, nobody is in the running, and we are working out where to go with him.
“There isn’t a script, and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away,” he said.
(ANI)
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.