HBO’s The Wire redefined the cop drama genre and launched a dozen careers including actor Idris Elba, the late Michael K. Williams, and director Reinaldo Marcus Green. Green, who is coming off the success of King Richard–and maybe controversy surrounding Will Smith, was talking with fellow Wire creators and showrunners David Simon and George Pelecanos, along with actor Jon Berenthal about the upcoming HBO miniseries We Own This City.
We Own This City, takes another look at corruption in Baltimore based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton. The miniseries details the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force and the corruption surrounding it, with Berenthal playing Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, who led the GTTF.
During the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Green talked about mirroring the career of Cary Fukunaga, who first saw acclaim with Sin Nombre back in 2009, then the hit success again with the HBO miniseries True Detective, and eventually a James Bond film, No Time To Die.
Green found success on a similar trajectory and was asked if he cared to do a James Bond movie to seal the deal, he said yes, and would get Idris Elba for the part.
“Yeah, if it has somebody that looks like me in front of it, I’m definitely open to it,” he said. “I want to go into that direction and I want to be able to add value to a new Bond. I grew up watching popcorn movies, so if I could add a little something to it, that would be cool. Let’s see if Idris wants to do it. I think Dave and George could call Idris and see what we could do.”
Elba has been part of the James Bond conversation for years now since it was reported that Daniel Craig would be stepping down after No Time To Die, and has said he wants the iconic role, but it needs to happen soon if it’s going to.
“I’m probably the most famous Bond actor in the world, and I haven’t even played the role,” Elba told The Telegraph back in 2015, even adding in 2016 that he feels like he’s getting too old. “I can’t be running around in cars with ladies and martinis. Who wants to do that? That sounds terrible.”
