James Bond: FIRST LOOK at Idris Elba as 007 in IMPRESSIVE fan film poster

The 46-year-old star is a hot favourite at the bookies in the running to be the next James Bond. With Luther’s return on New Year’s Day his odds slashed down to 4-1, but speculation was particularly rife following his cryptic selfie with Daniel Craig at the Golden Globes on Sunday evening. Taken at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, the picture showed Elba with his hand on the 50-year-old’s shoulder, as the two looked suspiciously at each other. Craig, who attended to support his wife Rachel Weisz in her acting nomination for The Favourite, was sporting his 007 black tie and holding the top of a bottle of champagne.

Posted on Elba’s Twitter, over the picture he wrote: “Awks…..” While the tweet simply said: “Er….”

Following what is more likely just a joke than an actual hint Elba is set to become the next Bond, BossLogic has created an impressive fan poster of the actor as 007.

Elba is shown looking particularly brooding in black tie, with a machine gun leaning casually on his right shoulder.

Last year Tom Hardy was also mocked up in a fan Bond poster as 007.

The image saw the 40-year-old starring in a film called Never Dream of Dying.

The poster features three pictures of Hardy holding different guns, appearing very well-dressed, and quite honestly looking similar.

For fans of Hardy’s and Elba’s who would love to see them take up the Licence to Kill, there’s going to be a long wait before auditions for Craig’s replacement begin.

After all, the incumbent Bond only starts shooting his fifth and final outing as 007 on March 4 at Pinewood Studios.

Bond 25 won’t then actually won’t hit cinemas until February 14, 2020.

And assuming producers follow a similar three-year gap in-between Pierce Brosnan’s last Bond movie and the announcement of Craig as his replacement, fans shouldn’t expect any concrete details until at least 2022.

At which point, Elba will almost be the age of Craig in his retiring film, so perhaps his chances are slim.