Gary Oldman Says the Next James Bond Has Already Been Chosen

The Oscar winner says the 007 decision has been made but not announced, and he’s hoping ‘Slow Horses’ co-star Jack Lowden landed the role.

ByBernadette Giacomazzo
September 8, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Gary Oldman says the next James Bond has already been chosen but not announced, and he hopes the role went to his Slow Horses co-star Jack Lowden.
• Amazon MGM has not confirmed Oldman’s claim, while Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal and other actors remain linked to the role.
• Denis Villeneuve will direct Bond 26 from a script by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, with Amy Pascal and David Heyman producing.

Gary Oldman says the seemingly endless search for the next James Bond is over—even if Amazon MGM isn’t ready to tell anyone who won.

The Oscar-winning actor shared that intriguing detail while discussing his Slow Horses co-star Jack Lowden, one of many actors whose names have surfaced in the race to succeed Daniel Craig as 007. During an appearance on Canada’s The Morning Show, Gary Oldman said he believes the filmmakers have already settled on their new Bond. Now he hopes the mystery man is Lowden.

“It’s been rumored that he is on the shortlist,” Oldman said of his co-star, per The Hollywood Reporter. “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 Oldman’s claim. But his comments arrive after months of reports suggesting the studio and filmmakers were narrowing an unusually crowded field of potential Bonds.

Lowden, 36, has starred opposite Oldman on Apple TV+’s Slow Horses since 2022, playing MI5 agent River Cartwright alongside Oldman’s Jackson Lamb. He also appeared in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and the historical drama Mary Queen of Scots.

Lowden’s wife, Oscar-nominated actress Saoirse Ronan, has already expressed interest in joining the Bond universe herself—albeit on the opposite side of 007.

“I said that I wanted to be a Bond villain and I’m dead serious,” Ronan recently told Empire. “I want to go dark.” She specifically pitched playing a younger female antagonist.

Lowden is only one name in a James Bond casting saga that has shifted repeatedly since Craig ended his five-film tenure with 2021’s No Time to Die. Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Harris Dickinson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Tom Holland have all been linked to the role at various points.

An August report identified Turner, Elordi, Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Lowden and relative unknown Jack Barton as possible candidates, with Barton surprisingly described by

A subsequent report claimed Turner and Jack O’Connell were among a final group of three.

Amazon MGM, meanwhile, has consistently declined to validate the revolving door of rumored contenders. Earlier this year, studio film chief Courtenay Valenti acknowledged the intense interest while warning that an announcement wasn’t imminent.

“Don’t get too excited,” Valenti told the CinemaCon crowd. She said the studio was approaching the decision “with care and deep respect,” adding that taking control of the next chapter of Bond was “a responsibility we don’t take lightly.”

At least the creative side of Bond 26 is considerably less mysterious. Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is directing, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is writing the screenplay, and Amy Pascal and David Heyman are producing.

Amazon gained creative control of the franchise following its 2025 agreement with longtime Bond stewards Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.