Tom Hiddleston Not The Next Bond – And That's Okay

It's extremely important that everyone remains calm: Tom Hiddleston is allegedly out of the James Bond running. According to an anonymous source reported in The Sun (so you know, take it with a grain of salt), the Bond talks are over because "Bond needs an air of mystery" and waltzing around in an "I <3 TS" tank top has supposedly made him "uncastable” for a role like Bond. While nobody officially linked to the James Bond franchise has confirmed this report, I wouldn't be surprised if the public romance makes it difficult for the powers that be to see Hiddleston as Bond. After all, despite Daniel Craig's high-octane performances prior to the role, what did we really know about his love life? While like Hiddleston, Craig was involved with a fellow star, Craig's courting of and wedding to Rachel Weisz was undertaken with the minimum possible paparazzi involvement, with Hello Magazine describing them as "one of the most private couples in Hollywood." All that aside though, this alleged end of an era of every reporter ever asking Hiddleston about being struck out of the running for the next James Bond actually comes with a silver lining. It means that we can turn the conversation back to the man who should truly take on the Bond role: Idris Elba.

Elba isn't the only name that's been dropped as a potential Bond replacement, but he's certainly one of the internet's favorites. (Aidan Turner, Tom Hardy David Oyelowo, James Norton and Damian Lewis have all been named as possible contenders for the role and there's a lot of starry credentials between them.) The actor is also my first choice for the role. Elba's proved he's an accomplished, charismatic actor in roles like Russell "Stringer" Bell in The Wire and Commandant in Beasts Of No Nation. But that doesn't mean he's without obstacles: he's already 43 years old and so arguably running out of time to play the action-hero (that's another can of worms, but I digress). Unfortunately, that seems to be an issue for the franchise. While Craig certainly looked the part, his somewhat mature age (47 years old) proved tricky for action sequences, such as during the shooting of Spectre when he injured his knee and shooting had to pause to allow for his recovery time.

But all that aside, I still ship Elba and the Bond franchise because he's who we really need in the role right now, especially in the UK (a.k.a. home of Mr. Bond). As this disturbing Facebook album "Warning Signs" shows via screenshots of many hurtful tweets in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, there's rising public racism in the United Kingdom. The announcement of a black Bond might well be exactly what pop-cultural Britain needs to flip the bird at the rising intolerance and would show that despite the increase in reports of racism, that Britain's still proud of its multicultural makeup. This intolerance isn't limited to post Brexit racism — consider the tragedy in Orlando. Consider female Labour MP Jo Cox's tragic murder. The worst things that have happened this year have happened because of hate and intolerance.

So no matter how big a Hiddleston fan you are, think of the bigger picture: It's no terrible thing that your guy allegedly won't win the role. It's actually a relief, because it opens back up the hope that the role could possibly help change the world.