New Delhi

British actor Idris Elba reportedly walked away from the venerable role of James Bond recently. Before the news, he was considered the hot favourite for the role of the iconic, fictional British spy. But now the race for the successor of Daniel Craig is wide open. AceShowbiz.com reported that not only Elba has refused the role but has suggested a few suitable 007s to producer Barbara Broccoli.

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As per rumours swirling around, none other than Tom Holland, best known for playing the role of 'Spider-Man' in films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is now the favourite for the role. Detractors might point out that Holland is too short for the role at a height of five foot and eight inches, but similar concerns were voiced for Craig too, who is five foot and ten inches.

Other contenders that are still not out of the race are Tom Hardy, Regé-Jean Page, Sam Heughan, Richard Madden, Tom Hiddleston, and Henry Cavill. The role demands a British actor as the character is also British, but Lazenby, who played the role in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', was Australian, so a non-British actor would not be out of the question.

Also Read: James Bond producer says the character is undergoing 'reinvention'. Here's why

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In June, Broccoli had told Deadline that the producers are yet to decide on the next Bond. She added that they are in the process of reinventing the character. 

"There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away," she said.

Many had demanded a woman in the role of 007 (with some calling it Jane Bond), but Broccoli has made it clear that next Bond will also be a male actor.

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Craig, the last Bond actor, played the role for the fifth and final time in last year's 'No Time to Die'. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the film also starred Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Rory Kinnear and Ralph Fiennes, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen, Ana de Armas, David Dencik and Dali Benssalah. It became a huge commercial success and was also a hit with critics. 

There have been 25 movies thus far in the 'James Bond' franchise. Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan have played the character apart from Craig.

James Bond movies are based on British author Ian Fleming's novels.