Is Idris Elba 'too street' to play James Bond?

Many James Bond fans have long hoped the Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom star ​Idris Elba will play the next 007.

However, in an interview with the Daily Mail, the current author of the next Bond novel, doesn't seem to share fans' excitement.

In the interview,  Anthony​ Horowitz who is commissioned by Ian Fleming’s estate to pen the novel, revealed Elba for him is 'too rough to play the part." Adding that it is not an issue of colour, but that he's just took "street" to be Bond.

Instead, Horowitz would like to see Adrian Lester star of BBC series Hustle to play the part.

Horowitz remarks did not sit well with many, who took to social media calling him to choose his words wisely, particularly the word "street". According to Time, some compared the word “street” to “urban” which is sometimes used "to imply blackness" in a derogatory way.

Many believed Horowitz statement implies he doesn’t envision a black James Bond. Fans came to Elba's defence by posting Elba dressed in formal wear, while other chose to point out that not all white actors represented the Bond in all his suaveness.

Elba has not yet made any comment on the issue.

Read: Daniel Craig involved in scriptwriting for James Bond films