Jack Lowden’s absence from a recent announcement regarding the Apple TV show Slow Horses has intensified speculation about his candidacy for the next James Bond role.
Lowden, who has starred in the Emmy-winning spy drama since its 2022 debut, was conspicuously omitted from the September 15 press release for the show’s upcoming eighth season. Apple TV’s official statement focused instead on Gary Oldman’s character, Jackson Lamb, and Kristin Scott Thomas’s character, Diana Taverner, describing their “most explosive confrontation yet.”
According to The Daily Beast, Lowden is reportedly a frontrunner for the 007 role. His Slow Horses colleague Gary Oldman appeared to fuel this speculation during an interview on Canada Global’s The Morning Show, stating that Lowden is “on the shortlist” for James Bond and that “they have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet.”
However, Oldman later walked back those comments at the Toronto International Film Festival, clarifying that he was merely “hoping” Lowden gets the part rather than speaking from knowledge of the casting decision. “There are six people on a shortlist. I heard a rumor that they’ve picked James Bond, but they haven’t announced it yet,” Oldman said. He emphasized, “I do not know who the next James Bond is.”
The search for Daniel Craig’s successor has generated widespread speculation, with multiple actors reportedly in consideration, including Tom Francis, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Mescal, and Jack Barton.
Producer Amy Pascal, who is working on the upcoming Amazon MGM Bond film, told Deadline that the casting announcement is likely to come by year’s end. She described the process as “really, really methodical,” noting that Craig’s replacement must offer “something really different that is stirring and exciting and different.” Denis Villeneuve, director of Dune, and Steven Knight, writer of Peaky Blinders, are attached to direct and write the next Bond installment, respectively.
Key facts
- Jack Lowden was notably absent from the Slow Horses season 8 announcement despite starring in the show
- Lowden is reportedly a frontrunner for the next James Bond role
- Gary Oldman initially suggested Lowden was chosen but later clarified he was only hoping for that outcome
- Producer Amy Pascal said the next 007 will likely be announced by year’s end
- Denis Villeneuve and Steven Knight are set to work on the next Bond film