Update: Deadline now reports that Elba is officially on board the film, taking over a lead role called Sensei that was originally developed for Tom Cruise. Hooray for great actors getting big gigs!

After delivering a slew of great performances, Idris Elba now seems to be in real demand. He’s already cropped up in Thor this year, has completed his stint on Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and is now hard at work on Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic Prometheus. But what of the future? Well, it appears he may well be hopping over to Guillermo del Toro’s monster-fighting blockbuster Pacific Rim.

According to The Wrap, the man once and likely forever known as The Wire’s Stringer Bell is being courted for the film, which will star Sons of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam as one of a team of human pilots who must stop giant creatures destroying cities by taking them down using massive robots.

There’s no word on what role Elba might be playing even if he does score a deal, but we could easily picture him fighting huge beasties.

With a script from Travis Beacham and the backing of Legendary Pictures, del Toro is set to kick off shooting later this year.

And Elba’s name has also cropped up in regards to a part in Quentin Tarantino’s revenge-flavoured spaghetti Western Django Unchained, with rumours linking him to the lead role. It remains to be seen if he makes it to the cast, especially since Will Smith seems to be the front-runner for Django himself. But we’re sure Tarantino would want to find something for Elba in the movie…