Idris has given plans to play James Bond the Elba – but he won’t be handing in his licence to thrill.
The 50-year-old star plans to shake and stir fans as London detective DCI John Luther rather than as 007.
Idris is following up on the massive success of Luther on TV with a film version out in March.
In Luther: The Fallen Sun the skilled but disgraced detective breaks out of jail to catch a serial killer who is terrorising London.
The cast includes Andy Serkis, who was Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films, as millionaire villain David Robey, who watches and manipulates others via tech surveillance.
East Londoner Idris said: “It’s not a competition but I reference Bond as a template for the type of film we’re going for.
“John is a leading character in a film that he’s the hero of. That’s the comparison I’m making.
“But my ambition is for it to have that sort of scale, that reverence.
“I want people to be like, ‘Ooh! Luther, the first film? Wicked.’ And to continue that.”
Despite being touted as frontrunner to take over from Daniel Craig, 54, as James Bond, reports late last year suggested Idris had ruled himself out. The actor, DJ and director said he wasn’t happy about the constant 007 questions he faced while promoting his film Beast. Instead, he was desperate to talk about the character that launched him to BBC TV fame – loose cannon detective Luther.
Since then, other names in the frame to play Bond include Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 32, Superman star Henry Cavill, 39, and Bridgerton favourite Regé-Jean Page, 34.
Craig starred in five Bond movies, including Casino Royale in 2006, 2012’s Skyfall and 2021’s No Time to Die.
And Idris is already looking ahead to who could take over from him as Luther, saying: “Maybe later down the line, when I’m too old, someone else will step in to play John.”
Luther ran for five series between 2010 and 2019 and saw Idris’ character John befriend psychopath and murderer Alice, played by Ruth Wilson, and go on to solve cases together.
There has been no news on whether Wilson’s character will appear in the Luther film.
Speaking in Total Film magazine, Idris – who is married to model Sabrina, 33 – said tailors made 10 of the cop’s trademark coats. And they were made a little bigger to give Luther a superhero appeal.
He said: “John almost feels like a superhero – he doesn’t wear a cape, he wears a coat. We made the coat slightly bigger, a bit thicker. So when you see it in a film, because the scale’s so big, it just fits in.”
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