The identity of the next James Bond has been the subject of endless speculation for years now, and the secret may be about to come out... Appearing on Canadian programme The Morning Show, Gary Oldman was asked who the next James Bond would be. His answer leaves little room for doubt: as far as he's concerned, Amazon MGM Studios, Denis Villeneuve and the film's team have already made their choice, even if the name hasn't been made public yet.
“They've made their choice, but they haven't announced it yet.”
So far, nothing especially incriminating. Except that Gary Oldman was then asked about Jack Lowden, a name regularly floated among the contenders for the role. And that's the moment the actor appears to have put his foot in it.
“Jack's been on the shortlist of contenders for a while now… We'll know soon enough. Because they've cast him [slight hesitation] They've made their choice, but they haven't announced it yet… So I've got my fingers crossed for Jack.”
Gary may have said a little too much...
The comment can obviously be read in more than one way. First possibility: Gary Oldman genuinely knows who has landed the role and has just inadvertently confirmed that Jack Lowden is the next James Bond. Look closely at what he says and you'll notice he doesn't merely list his Slow Horses co-star among the candidates — he first states that the choice has fallen on him, then immediately backtracks. And that hesitation says an awful lot about the slip. In other words, Gary Oldman has probably let out a piece of information he wasn't supposed to reveal, then realised what he'd said and rowed back slightly. But another reading is perfectly plausible: Gary Oldman might simply know that casting is wrapped up, without knowing which actor got the nod, and is just voicing his own hope that Jack Lowden gets to wear the tuxedo.
For now, there's no way of saying for certain that Jack Lowden is the new 007. The 36-year-old Scottish actor has, however, been among the names doing the rounds for several months, alongside Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Harris Dickinson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Either way, the timing of the remark is interesting in itself, since the studio is currently ramping up preparations for the next film, with Denis Villeneuve in the director's chair. Worth noting too that the script comes from Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders.
After five films with Daniel Craig, this new James Bond outing is meant to usher in a new era for the franchise — and probably reinvent it, too. Picking the next actor is therefore a particularly big call, but above all it needs to stay under wraps for as long as possible. One thing's for sure: after this interview, Jack Lowden is going to have people talking about him rather more than before.
