Your Internet Boyfriend Idris Elba Is Probably Doing A Rom-Com Next & That's So Much Better Than Bond

In news that will have you weeping forever once again, your internet boyfriend Idris Elba will not be playing James Bond. But before you go flipping the bird over Twitter at every movie executive you think was involved in this decision, with every Hollywood injustice comes a silver lining and the one we've got is arguably better than Bond. In his interview with BuzzFeed, the 45-year-old revealed what he's hoping to do next: Elba wants to do a romantic comedy. Cue fireworks, swooning, rose petals, the whole shebang, because you know he'd be all sorts of talented at this. And honestly? After doing so much action and sci-fi, it's time for a change of genre.

But what about James Bond? On being asked about playing the iconic role, he gave a serious "I think not" before doing what he does best and goofing around. He told the interviewer that they should really ask the producers while miming picking up a phone, "Like I can just, 'Hey, I’m gonna play Bond next! No, it’s Idris. Hello?' No one wants it."

The whole world is up in arms at this statement, but whatever. If that gets The Dark Tower actor onto a romantic comedy set faster, that's no bad thing.

After all, it sounds as if he could use a little comedy in his life. Elba has just wrapped up The Mountain Between Us, in which he co-stars alongside Kate Winslet as one of two survivors of a plane crash and which is understandably a little darker than the average movie romance. The Hackney native also talked about the need to cleanse his palate following on from completing the final season of Luther: "It’s pretty dark, so there’s some levity to be had. I think I should do some funnies next, just goof around a little bit. I’m pretty goofy in real life."

He suggested as possible next steps: a romantic comedy or maybe playing a stand-up comedian or maybe remaking Martin Scorsese’s 1982 movie The King of Comedy. But it's worth noting that this isn't the first time Elba has publicly expressed a desire to make a rom-com.

In 2014, The Irish Independent reported that he had said "I'd love to do a rom com. Get me in now! I could do my best Hugh Grant." He continued "I'm one of these actors who is not afraid of trying anything and I don't want to be pigeon holed. So rom com, bring it, let's do it!" Since then, he's appeared in thrillers (No Good Deed), lent his voice to animated movies (Zootopia, Finding Dory), starred in a superhero movie (Avengers: Age Of Ultron), a war drama (Beasts Of No Nation), an action movie (Bastille Day), and, of course, sci-fi (Star Trek Beyond, The Dark Tower). So why won't anyone give this man a rom-com role?

It's frustrating since his personal brand seems perfect for the rom-com genre. We're talking about Elba, who auctioned off a Valentine's Day date with himself for charity to raise money for school girls in Sierra Leone to have the equal opportunity to receive a proper education. He's all heart. And if you've ever been on Twitter, you'll know that the actor basically has his own, ever-active, constantly swooning fan club there (not to mention his two million followers at the time of writing).

So, yes, Hollywood messed up on the Bond thing, but they could so easily make it all better. All they have to do is give Elba the biggest, juiciest rom-com role of the year, and we'll pretend the whole spy thing never happened. Maybe.