Gary Oldman Just Told The World That James Bond Has Already Been Cast.
Oscar-winning British actor Gary Oldman appeared on Canada's The Morning Show and announced, with the confidence of someone who has either been told directly or has spent enough time in the industry to read the signs clearly, that Amazon MGM Studios has already selected the next James Bond and is simply waiting to make the announcement. His personal preference for who that person is came with it: Jack Lowden, his co-star in Apple TV's acclaimed spy series Slow Horses, where Lowden plays MI5 agent River Cartwright opposite Oldman's veteran intelligence operative Jackson Lamb. Oldman's exact words were: we're going to find out pretty soon, aren't we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack. Amazon MGM has not confirmed or denied the comments. Lowden, who is 36 years old and Scottish, had been widely reported to be among a shortlist of six actors still in contention as of August 2026, alongside Jack Barton, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal, and Harris Dickinson, with Theo James having reportedly withdrawn from consideration in the same month.
The new Bond film will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, who is completing what would be an extraordinary triple run of prestige blockbusters after Dune: Part Two and Dune: Part Three, and the screenplay is being written by Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, a combination that suggests Amazon is not treating the franchise as a commercial exercise but as a genuine filmmaker-led project of the kind that reinvigorated Bond under the Craig era. Casting director Nina Gold has said publicly that whoever is chosen will be expected to carry the role across three, four, or more films, meaning the decision carries an unusual weight even by Bond's considerable standards. The story acquired an extra dimension when Lowden's wife, Oscar-nominated actress Saoirse Ronan, told Empire magazine that she was dead serious about wanting to play a Bond villain in the new film. She said she thought having a young female villain would be really interesting, especially for girls and women, and that she would love to do more of that kind of dramatic work. Amazon has not responded to requests for comment on any of this. Jack Lowden has not commented either. Slow Horses Season 6, in which Oldman and Lowden appear together, premieres on September 16.
