'My name's Elba, Idris Elba': Actor responds to James Bond rumors

People are once again buzzing about the prospect of Idris Elba playing James Bond. And now, Elba has responded to reports that a James Bond producer has tapped him to be 007, posting a cryptic tweet on Sunday.

The actor drove his fans into a frenzy by posting: “my name’s Elba, Idris Elba,” along with a (super-filtered) selfie.

Fans were obviously freaking out, as this is the biggest tease yet that Elba might be stepping into the iconic role.

On Friday, the U.K. tabloid the Daily Star published an article claiming that director Antoine Fuqua reportedly said his friend Bond series producer Barbara Broccoli thinks “it is time” for a black actor to star in the franchise. Apparently, the article said, the 45-year-old “Luther” star is in the running to play the titular role if the actor currently playing Bond, Daniel Craig, retires from the part.

Fuqua told the Daily Star, “Idris could do it if he was in shape. You need a guy with physically strong presence. Idris has that.”

However, before we all get too excited, roughly three hours later, Elba posted an iconic image of Public Enemy and a tweet that read, “Don’t believe the HYPE.” Was this a reference to the group’s famous song about not believing rumors? Is he just feeling some old-school hip-hop this morning? Only time will tell, but we’re hoping the hype is real.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

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• Son of Stacker: John Boyega on taking ‘Pacific Rim’ reins from Idris Elba

• Daniel Craig says he’s been ‘gently’ trying to make the James Bond movies appeal more to women