Is Ginger the New Black? Next 007 may not be Elba, but a Red Head.

I am a huge Idris Elba fan so when the rumors were that he is on the top of a short list to be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig peels himself out of his sexy square cut, I was very very excited.  It is believed that the next bond film ( to be released December of this year?) will be Craig's last.

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But now, the news from her majesty's secret service is that Ginger is the New Black.  It looks like a red headed Scotsman may be the new #1 to be the next 007.

Damian Lewis is at the centre of rumours he will be the next James Bond after bookmakers received a flurry of bets on him succeeding Daniel Craig. “This is an unprecedented gamble, as for no apparent reason we have seen bets of up to £200 on Damian Lewis being named as the next Bond. This might well be significant,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams. – telegraph.co.uk

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Lewis has already had some interaction with the 2nd highest grossing franchise in history (behind the Harry Potter Series) when he narrated Ian Fleming’s Diamonds are Forever audiobook. Lewis has joked about someone like him being considered for the coveted role in the future.  He stated the character’s Scottish heritage – a major plot point in Skyfall – has “paved the way perfectly for a red-headed Bond”.

Does Damian Lewis already have a leg up on the competition?

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Barbara Broccoli, the Bond producer, is a fan of Lewis after working with him on last year’s The Silent Storm. Broccoli went to great lengths to keep the actor happy while on location. “She overheard me say my pillow was like a brick and she arrived in her car from London with two duck-down pillows from John Lewis,” he recalled. – telegraph.co.uk

Idris, if you want the role, maybe you need to make some bedroom requests of your own very soon.

So a red head or a black man? Of course it doesn't matter.  Either one would shake (not stir) things up just a little bit.  But how about shaking it up and adding in a Mr Moneypenny or even make Bond just a little bi?  Wait, did that already happen?

James Bond has always been a little homoerotic in my mind.  He's the night in shining armour Aston Martin that we dream about rescuing us from evil doers and taking us away on a boat to cruise the Mediterranean forever. It could happen right?  007 might swing that way.

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The 23rd 007 film (SkyFall) includes a scene in which Bond (Daniel Craig) is tied to a chair as former MI6 agent-turned-villain Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) unbuttons his shirt and makes a sexually-charged remark, to which Bond responds: "What makes you think this is my first time?"

"Some people claim it's because I'm, in fact, gay but it's not true at all," Logan  (writer of SkyFall) told The Hollywood Reporter. "Sam [Mendes] and I were discussing, there were so many scenes where Bond goes mano-a-mano with the villain, whether it's Dr No or Goldfinger or whatever.

"There's been so many ways to do a cat-and-mouse and intimidate Bond, and we thought, what would truly make the audience uncomfortable is sexual intimidation; playing the sort of homoerotic card that is sort of always there subtextually with characters like Scaramanga in Man with the Golden Gun or Dr No.

"So we just decided that we should play the card and enjoy it."

"Someone suggested that Silva may be gay," Craig said with a big smile. "And I'm like, I think he'll f*** anything."- digitalspy.com

Ok,  we can get by for a while with a little tease, but we can as well dream.  Gay characters or not, red head or black, I am sure we will enjoy the next installment of 007.