A new, unconventional James Bond – could he be?

For much of the year there has been speculation that Idris Elba, the lead actor from The Long Walk to Freedom could be Sony’s choice for the next James Bond, after Daniel Craig hangs up his pistol.  And now, the man himself has responded on Twitter, saying: “Isn’t James Bond supposed to be handsome? Glad you think I’ve got a shot! Happy New Year people.”  He tweeted this alongside a photo of himself trying to hide his handsomeness.

Isn’t 007 supposed to handsome? Glad you think I’ve got a shot! Happy New year people. pic.twitter.com/3g9lAl2Uo3

— Idris Elba (@idriselba) December 27, 2014

The idea of Luther star, Elba being cast as James Bond was first leaked right back on the 4th of January 2014 when emails from a cyberattack on Sony exposed that the Sony Chairman thought the star of Luther certainly could play the famous spy.

“Idris should be the next Bond,” Pascal wrote in a Jan. 4 email to Elizabeth Cantillon, the former executive vice president of production for Columbia Pictures.

And as long ago as 2011, Idris told told NPR.“I’d definitely consider it.”

“I just don’t want to be the black James Bond. Sean Connery wasn’t the Scottish James Bond, and Daniel Craig wasn’t the blue-eyed James Bond, so if I played him, I don’t want to be called the black James Bond.”

Do you think Elba would be a good James Bond or it is stepping too far from the traditional look of the iconic character?