The James Bond producers are looking for a new 007, and it seems Idris Elba might in any case be in the running — in the event that he wants it.

Discuss Elba being the next James Bond has been happening for years, and he’s even apparently denied wanting to take on the role. Presently, makers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have responded to the actor’s hesitance.

“He’s great,” Wilson told Variety, and Broccoli quickly added, “We love Idris.”

“The thing is, it’s going to be a couple of years off,” Broccoli continued. “And when we cast Bond, it’s a 10-, 12-year commitment. So he’s probably thinking, ‘Do I really want that thing?’ Not everybody wants to do that. It was hard enough getting [Daniel Craig to do it].”

Wilson called attention to that Craig, who is currently 54, was in his 30s when he first began as Bond. With Elba being 50, he would be at least in his 60s when he would call it quits, making the casting look impossible.

The 007 producers shared that numerous actors, especially young actors, think they want to do Bond, however they don’t understand what that responsibility truly implies.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh yeah, it’d be fun to do one,’” Broccoli said, laughing. “Well. That ain’t gonna work.”

“It’s a big investment for us, too, to bring out a new Bond,” Wilson added.

It’s unclear whether this implies the “Luther” actor is no longer being considered — or on the other hand even in the event that he was only a competitor in the first place.

In January, Broccoli admitted that casting Elba was “part of the conversation”; nonetheless, they would have rather not had talks while Craig was all the while holding the Bond title.

“You know, it’s been part of the conversation, but it’s always difficult to have the conversation when you have someone in the seat,” she said on Deadline’s “Crew Call” podcast at the time.

Elba has previously expressed interest in becoming Bond, yet he might have had a change of attitude toward the coveted franchise in recent years.

Earlier this month, the “Three Thousand Years of Longing” actor told “The Shop” podcast listeners, “It is not a goal for my career,” regarding the role. “I don’t think that, you know, playing Bond will satisfy some of my personal goals.”

“It will definitely satisfy the will of a nation,” he continued. “I’m not gonna lie, every corner of the world I go, and I’m talking about different cultures, they always go ‘Bond,’ and I feel it is beyond me at this junction. It’s beyond me. You know, it’s not a question of, should I, do I, will I. It is what the will of the nation dictates sometimes.”

Talking on the “Jemele Hill Is Unbothered” podcast in August, the “Thor” actor expressed his dissatisfaction about being found out if he would be the next James Bond.

“I have no more answers for it. I just tell people, ‘Aw, don’t ask me that,’” he admitted. “I try to say the same things. Every now and then I just tease them, but every now and then I’ll give them some philosophy on why I don’t want to do it or why it’s a rumor. But most times now I tend not to talk about it.”

At the time of the interview, Broccoli and Wilson admitted they haven’t recently spoken to Elba, yet all the same it’s still “early days” to pick an actor to take on 007.