UPDATE 9/8: Lowden’s Slow Horses co-star Gary Oldman says Bond has been picked but not announced, and crossed his fingers for Lowden. Bond writer Steven Knight was then asked about it on BBC Radio 4 and refused to deny that 007 has been cast.
UPDATE 9/4: Puck News’ Matt Belloni reports test deals are going out to Bond contenders, that the lists circulating online are “bogus,” and that screen tests won’t happen until later this fall. Full story on Belloni’s report.
UPDATE 8/26: Page Six reports Lowden is set to screen test for Bond in early September, alongside Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal and Harris Dickinson — with an unknown, Poor Things bit player Jack Barton, currently the favorite. Full story on the Barton report.
UPDATE 8/24: Lowden is not the only one in his household angling for a Bond job. His wife, Saoirse Ronan, tells Empire she is “dead serious” about playing a Bond villain and wants to “go dark.” Full story on Ronan’s villain pitch.
The James Bond rumor mill has a new name, and this one comes with a more specific source than most.
Richard Osman, the British TV presenter and Thursday Murder Club novelist, says he has been told Jack Lowden is being seriously considered as the next 007.
Osman dropped the name on The Rest Is Entertainment, the podcast he hosts with journalist Marina Hyde.
“The name I’ve heard is Jack Lowden,” Osman said.
He was careful not to present it as a done deal. Osman said his source described the choice as definite, but he has heard supposedly definite Bond tips before that went nowhere. His takeaway is that Lowden has not landed the role, but is being strongly considered.
Osman thinks Lowden would be a terrific choice and sees some Daniel Craig in him, while Hyde pointed out that at 36, he is right around the age Bond actors have traditionally taken over the role.
The clip quickly took off online, with one fan post clearing a million views in less than a day.
Why Jack Lowden Makes Sense As Bond
Lowden, 36, is a Scottish actor best known as MI5 agent River Cartwright opposite Gary Oldman in Apple TV+’s Slow Horses, a role that earned him an Emmy nomination. So the latest actor linked to Bond already spends his day job playing a British spy.
His film résumé includes Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, Mary Queen of Scots and Benediction, and he is married to four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan. If cast, Lowden would become the first Scottish Bond since Sean Connery.
He has also been through the Bond rumor cycle before. Back in 2022, Lowden told the Associated Press the speculation was flattering while casting doubt on whether there was actually anything behind it.
But Nobody Has Said Lowden Has The Role
Here is the important part: Osman did not say Lowden is a finalist, has a screen test booked, or has been cast.
Some outlets have already stretched the claim into reports that Lowden has reached a final group of five or six actors. Osman never said that.
He even supplied his own warning, pointing out that the public has been wrong about virtually every Bond before the official announcement.
That lines up almost exactly with the caution the franchise’s 40-year casting director issued just days ago when she rejected the supposed frontrunner list.
There is also the age question.
Multiple outlets have reported Amazon ideally wants its next Bond under 30 so the actor can carry the franchise through a five-film run, the same issue that effectively ended the Henry Cavill conversation.
Lowden is already 36. If he really is under serious consideration, either the under-30 requirement was never as firm as reported or Amazon is willing to make an exception for the right actor.
For comparison, Daniel Craig was 37 when he was announced as Bond and went on to make five movies across 15 years.
Bond Casting Is About To Get Very Real
What we actually know has not changed. Denis Villeneuve is directing from a Steven Knight script, Nina Gold is handling casting, and the second round of screen tests is set for August.
Producer Amy Pascal has also told Deadline that a casting announcement could come by the end of the year, describing the process as methodical. That tracks with a production that needed a year just to land a script. The movie is reportedly targeting 2028.
So this is the point where legitimate casting leaks could start getting out. It is also the point where every Bond rumor is going to get louder.
Until a trade confirms Lowden is actually testing or meeting for the role, this remains a rumor, courtesy of the same Bond rumor mill that has already churned through Jacob Elordi and Callum Turner.
Amazon reportedly paid around a billion dollars for creative control of James Bond. Now comes the decision that matters most: who gets handed the keys to 007 for the next decade.
