IDRIS PUTS AN END TO SPECULATION OVER SPY ROLE

EXCLUSIVE BY THOMAS UNSWORTH and JAMIE ROBERTS

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THE spectre of the next James Bond film is looming ever larger, but who will play 007 remains a puzzling mystery.

It's four years since Daniel Craig bowed out as Bond in No Time to Die but Idris Elba, a firm favourite for the role, has revealed he has no time to spy, as he thinks he is too old for the role.

Craig, now 57, will be a tough act to follow having played the secret agent five times, including in Casino Royale, Skyfall and Spectre.

But with filming for next Bond due to start in 2027, ahead of a 2028 release, time is running short.

Elba said of the plum part: "I can't believe I am still being asked this at 53. When you sign up to Bond you sign up for a decade of making films, often a bit longer.

"Nobody wants to see Bond running around in his mid-60s." Roger Moore was the oldest actor to play 007, he was 57 in his final outing in 1985's A View to a Kill.

But Elba fans could have another reason cheer. He may reprise his most famous role, the brilliant-yet-troubled detective, Luther.

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Over five compelling series and a 2023 movie, Luther: The Fallen Sun, Elba kept millions of viewers gripped. He has now hinted that he could be ready to pick up his stylish long, grey trench coat again.

He said: "Luther is the character I have played the longest, it's probably the character that takes the most out of me.

"It takes such concentration to play Luther, he is so complex, and that's why I love playing him because he takes me to places I haven't been before.