Idris Elba, best known for his roles in "Luther," "The Wire," and "American Gangster," has been speculated to be the next James Bond ever since Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal's hacked email inbox recently showed a January 2014 message that implicated the possibility.

This past Thursday, Elba responded to Twitter queries by stating, "Isn't 007 supposed to handsome? Glad you think I've got a shot! Happy New Year people."

His response arrived after radio host Rush Limbaugh declared that the next James Bond should not be played by a black man. According to the Huffington Post, Limbaugh stated, "James Bond is a total concept put together by Ian Fleming. He was white and Scottish. Period. That is who James Bond is, was...

But now [they are] suggesting that the next James Bond should be Idris Elba, a black Briton, rather than a white from Scotland. But that's not who James Bond is, and I know it's racist to probably point this out."

Elba himself has shown some caution when asked about whether he would like to play James Bond. In a 2011 interview with NPR, he told host Linda Wertheimer that he is not interested in playing "black roles" - just "roles." He stated, "I just don't want to be the black James Bond... Sean Connery wasn't the Scottish James Bond, and Daniel Craig wasn't the blue-eyed James Bond, so if I played him, I don't want to be called the black James Bond."

However, The Verge reports that Elba said a few months ago that he would "absolutely" play the first black Bond if the job were offered to him.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood Reporter reports that "Spectre," the latest entry in the James Bond series starring Daniel Craig, is gearing up for a Nov. 6, 2015 release date stateside.

What do you think of the possibility of Elba's role?