There’s been big changes today in the future of the James Bond movies, with Idris Elba ruling himself out after weeks of recent speculation that he might be the next 007, on the same day it was revealed that Danny Boyle is stepping down as the director of the upcoming film.

Elba, 45, has long been tipped as one of the frontrunners to play Bond after Daniel Craig retires from the role. Rumours about his involvement reached fever pitch once again earlier this month, when it was intimated that Bond boss Barbara Broccoli has said that the time is right for a black actor to portray 007.

However, after a couple of tweets over recent days stirring the pot, Elba has seemingly bowed out of the running for good.

Idris ElbaIdris Elba has bowed out of the running to be the next James Bond

Speaking at the premiere of his directorial debut film Yardie this week, the former star of ‘Luther’ and ‘The Wire’ told ‘Good Morning Britain’ reporter Divya Kohli, who asked whether she was speaking to the next James Bond actor, a flat “no”.

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It came roughly a week after the actor had tweeted out a photo of himself captioned “My name’s Elba, Idris Elba”, paraphrasing the British spy’s famous line, in response to recent rumours that followed Broccoli’s revelation.

Other actors in the running to succeed Craig in the role include Aidan Turner, James Norton and Tom Hiddleston.

In other recent Bond news, Danny Boyle, director of Trainspotting and The Beach, has this week stepped down from the unnamed ‘Bond 25’ project, citing “creative differences” with MGM on the direction in which to take the film. He had originally taken over from Sam Mendes, who had directed the highly successful Skyfall and Spectre.

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