Idris Elba in 2019.
(CNN)The world may finally have to let go of Idris Elba playing James Bond.
The producers of the franchise have responded to Elba expressing that he's not exactly interested in the role, despite public outcry for him to play 007.
"I don't think that playing Bond will satisfy some of my personal goals,"
he said during an episode of HBO's "The Shop." "It will definitely satisfy the will of a nation, I'm not going to lie." (HBO and CNN are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.0
Elba said everywhere he goes people mention Bond, "And I feel it is beyond me at this juncture."
Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson
talked to Variety about the popular franchise and Elba.
"We love Idris," Broccoli said.
"The thing is, it's going to be a couple of years off," she added. "And when we cast Bond, it's a 10, 12-year commitment. So he's probably thinking, 'Do I really want that thing? Not everybody wants to do that. It was hard enough getting [Daniel Craig to do it]."
"And he was in his early 30s at the time!" Wilson added.
Consider us shaken and stirred.