There's a very good chance actor Idris Elba could take over the role of James Bond after Daniel Craig makes his exit. Last week, an email leaked in the Sony hacking scandal in which Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-chairman Amy Pascal said she believes the "Luthor" star would be perfect for the role of 007.
The suggestion has long been rumored and received a lot of praise from Hollywood, but controversial commentator Rush Limbaugh thinks it is a horrible idea. On Tuesday (Dec. 23) during his news talk radio program, Limbaugh told listeners that Elba shouldn't play Bond because he's black.
"James Bond is a total concept put together by Ian Fleming. He was white and Scottish. Period. That is who James Bond is," Limbaugh said. "But now Sony is suggesting that the next James Bond should be Idris Elba, a black Briton, rather than a white from Scotland. But that's not who James Bond is."
"I know it's racist to probably point this out," he added.
Before Limbaugh made his comments, Elba said he didn't "want to be called the first black James Bond" if he did land the part.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Elba said, according to ContactMusic.com. "Sean Connery wasn't the Scottish James Bond and Daniel Craig wasn't the blue-eyed James Bond. So if I played him, I don't want to be called the black James Bond."
Elba, who returns as Luthor in a two-part miniseries in 2015, also expressed his interest in playing the role during a Reddit AMA. When a fan questioned him about Bond, Elba confirmed it "was offered to me, absolutely."
The next Bond movie, "Spectre," is scheduled to be released Nov. 6, 2015, and Craig is currently signed on to reprise the role in one more film.
