Sony hacking: Idris Elba should be next James Bond, Sony chief said in leaked email

Daniel Craig, who is currently filming the latest installment of the worldwide franchise, has indicated he would be happy to leave

British actor Idris Elba is also a DJ and rapper who played Ibiza last summer (Getty Images)

Idris Elba could be the next James Bond, according to the latest Sony Entertainment leaks.

The 42-year-old British star, best known for playing Nelson Mandela and starring in HBO drama The Wire, is allegedly under consideration as the seventh incarnation of Ian Fleming’s iconic spy.

A leaked email from Amy Pascal, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s motion pictures group, apparently states: “Idris should be the next Bond,” according to The Daily Beast.

Pascal was emailing Elizabeth Cantillon, the former executive vice president of production for Columbia Pictures - which distributes the Bond franchise.

Elba has previously said he would play Bond. During a Reddit AMA in September he responded to a fan’s question of whether he’d be willing to take the role, writing: “Yes, if it was offered to me, absolutely.”

Daniel Craig, who is currently filming his fourth appearance as Bond in new release Spectre, has voiced his desire to leave.

“I've been trying to get out of this from the very moment I got into it. But they won't let me go, and I've agreed to do a couple more, but let's see how this one does, because business is business and if the shit goes down, I've got a contract that somebody will happily wipe their ass with,” he told Rolling Stone two years ago.

Craig is signed on to do one more after Spectre, due for release on 6 November next year.

Much of the correspondence seen in the cyber-attacks has dealt with the Bond franchise, indicating the script has leaked and production budget has gone massively over.