Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston set Bond tongues wagging

They may be embroiled in a battle to become the next James Bond but Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston are not about to let their career rivalry threaten their friendship.

The pair, frontrunners to replace Daniel Craig as super spy James Bond in the near future, recently put all the talk to one side to enjoy a night out at Vogue editor Anna Wintour’s.

While Mad Max star Tom Hardy is still the market leader at 6/4, Hiddleston and Elba are at the sharp end of the betting at 5/2 and 5/1 respectively.

Elba was recently given the seal of approval by former Bond star George Lazenby, with the Aussie actor saying that while the casting of a black James Bond could leave many people ‘scratching their heads’ he’s seen enough of the Luther star to believe he would be a success in the role.

Bond contenders @idriselba & @twhiddleston enjoy boys’ night out https://t.co/UkkUxXa37L via @DailyMailCeleb pic.twitter.com/A5EpCIYeFR

— We Geek Girls (@WeGeekGirls) May 3, 2016

The Clamour of Hiddleston to step into Craig’s shows has intensified with the popularity of the BBC drama The Night Manager.

However, while Elba has dealt with the speculation with all the coolness you’d expect from the suave and sophisticate Bond, Hiddleston has admitted that he finds talk of him taking on the role stressful and distracting.

Damian Lewis, Superman star Henry Cavil and the Hobbit’s Aiden Turner are also in the running at 6/1, 10/1 and 10/1 respectively but if Hardy rules himself out it looks like a straight scrap between the pally co-stars of Thor.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.