Ever since Daniel Craig announced he was stepping down from playing James Bond after 2021’s “No Time to Die,” rumors have been flying about who’ll be the next actor to take on the iconic role.
Over the years, the list of potential candidates has been lengthy and diverse, ranging from Idris Elba to Henry Cavill and pretty much every other British actor (and even a few actresses, with rumors producers plan to shake up the franchise with a gender-swapped 007).
In recent months, however, as the next Bond film begins shaping up, one name that continues to be mentioned is Jack Lowden — with rumors intensifying when his “Slow Horses” co-star Gary Oldman implied in a TV interview that he had inside info confirming Lowden had gotten the role.
Saoirse Weighs In
As it happens, Lowden is married to four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan, star of such films as “Lady Bird,” “Little Women” and “Brooklyn.”
When Ronan was recently interviewed by the Associated Press, the question naturally arose.
When asked what it was like for the whole world to believe her husband will be the next 007, she quipped, “I mean, well, Gary Oldman thinks he’s James Bond, which is its own thing.”
Interestingly, she proceeded to respond with the kind of non-answer one would expect from someone whose husband actually had been cast as Bond.
“We’re kind of getting on with our life, to be honest,” Ronan said.
“We have plenty of other things to be dealing with,” she added. “So, yeah, it’s not really a subject that’s coming up in our house, to be honest. The dog needs to be walked, the dinner needs to be made — we’re most focused on that.”
Did Gary Oldman Spill the Beans?
During an appearance on Canada’s “The Morning Show” last month, Oldman got tongues wagging with some comments he made about Lowden, who plays River Cartwright opposite his Jackson Lamb in Apple TV’s “Slow Horses.”
“It’s been rumored that he’s on the shortlist,” Oldman said during that talk show appearance.
“We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we?” he added. “Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack.”
Bond Has Been Cast… Maybe?
With Denis Villeneuve onboard to direct and “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight tapped to write the screenplay, the latter gave a recent interview that seemed to confirm Oldman’s contention that an actor had already been cast in Hollywood’s most coveted role.
While interviewed by BBC Radio 4’s “Today,” Knight offered a diplomatic non-answer when asked if he knew who’d be playing 007. “I cannot speak about this subject. Much as I would dearly love to,” he said.
“Today” host Anna Foster countered by asking, “Presumably you know who it is when you’re writing it. Does that make a difference?”
“It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is,” Knight said, seemingly implying that Bond had been cast.
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Saoirse Ronan Addresses Rumors Husband Jack Lowden Is the Next Bond — and Doesn’t Deny Them