Dwayne Johnson thinks Idris Elba would be a "great" James Bond.

Idris Elba

Idris Elba

The 47-year-old actor is backing his 'Hobbs & Shaw' co-star to take over from Daniel Craig in the iconic role and admitted they spent time discussing the speculation during breaks in filming the 'Fast and the Furious' spin-off.

Speaking to US TV show 'Extra', he said: "I love that idea. We had joked and talked about that on set. I think he would make a great Bond."

The 'Baywatch' star isn't the only star who thinks Idris would make a good Bond as Dame Judi Dench - who played MI6 chief 'M' in seven Bond films before her character met her end in 2012's 'Skyfall' - previously insisted that he would be a "brilliant" for the role after working with him on the upcoming big screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Cats'.

She said: "Oh I think he would be a brilliant Bond. When we filmed 'Cats' he kept saying to me 'Will you send me to the Heaviside layer?' [A reference to a song from the musical] And at one point I turned to him and said 'No: I'll send you to MI6!' "

Although Idris is a strong contender, the most recent speculation suggests it could be a female taking on the iconic part, as Lashana Lynch will reportedly be unveiled as the new 007 in the upcoming 25th Bond movie.

An insider told the Mail on Sunday newspaper : "There is a pivotal scene at the start of the film where M says, 'Come in 007', and in walks Lashana who is black, beautiful and a woman.

"It's a popcorn-dropping moment. Bond is still Bond but he's been replaced as 007 by this stunning woman."

Meanwhile, the 'Luther' actor previously admitted he'd jump at the chance to play the suave spy but is worried about a backlash because of the colour of his skin.

He said: "James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character, that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey.

"Of course, if someone said to me, 'Do you want to play James Bond?' I'd be like, 'Yeah!'

"That's fascinating to me. But it's not something I've expressed, like, 'Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond'. You just get disheartened when you get people from a generational point of view going, 'It can't be'. And it really turns out to be the colour of my skin.

"Then if I get it and it didn't work, or it did work, would it be because of the colour of my skin? That's a difficult position to put myself into when I don't need to."

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