Los Angeles, Jan 21 (IANS): Hollywood star Idris Elba is still in contention to be the next James Bond. Having long been touted to be the first black 007, the 'Luther' actor is confirmed to be "part of the conversation" for the new iteration of the famous British spy.

It's producer Barbara Broccoli herself who spilled the possibility of Elba joining the franchise, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"Well, we know Idris, we're friends with him, and he's a magnificent actor," she told Deadline.

"And, 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."

Broccoli, however, noted that they're in no rush to name Daniel Craig's replacement.

She shared: "I think we have decided that until 'No Time to Die' has had its run and Daniel has been able to, well, we've all been able to savour, reap the benefits of Daniel's wonderful tenure, we're not gonna think about, or talk about anybody else."

'No Time to Die', which is billed as Craig's swan song in his role as 007, went on to become the second-highest grossing movie of the pandemic with $774 million worldwide after a long delay due to the Covid pandemic.

Despite the apparent struggle of the movie industry to convince audiences to return to theaters, Broccoli said she and other studio executives kept their faith in the irreplaceable attraction of cinemas.

"We believe in the power of the theatrical release and the cinema, and that's what we've always done, and that's what 'Bond' has always done, and we cannot agree to go PVOD, not only just for the health of our brand and our movie but we can't do that to the cinema industry," Broccoli said about having "No Time to Die" stick to its theatrical release.

"We can't do it to the exhibitors."