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Gary Oldman Drops James Bond Bombshell

Fans are still arguing over who will be the next 007, but the Oscar winner says he has casting intel.

Gary Oldman has claimed that movie bosses have already chosen the next James Bond, adding that his “fingers are crossed” for his Slow Horses co-star Jack Lowden.

In an interview with Canada Global’s The Morning Show, the Oscar winner hinted that Lowden is in the running to be the next 007.

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“It’s been rumored that he’s on the shortlist. We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we?” Oldman said on Friday. “Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack.”

Oldman, 68, and Lowden, 36, have starred together in Apple TV’s Slow Horses since 2022. The actors are both nominated for their respective roles at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, taking place on September 14.

Daniel Craig was announced as the last Bond in 2005, with his last appearance coming in No Time to Die in 2021.

Lowden is one of many stars reportedly eager to take on the role. Auditions began this summer, with a flood of rumors about who was up for the life-changing part. Some alleged that actor Tom Francis had auditioned, and that Paul Mescal and Jack Barton were also in the running. Others have pointed to Lowden, Jacob Elordi, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Callum Turner.

Dune director Denis Villeneuve has been signed up to direct the next Bond picture, while Steven Knight, of Peaky Blinders fame, is set to write it.

Producer Amy Pascal, who worked across Bond movies Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, has said that the casting process has been “really, really methodical.”

“I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow. And it’s got to be something really different that is stirring and exciting and different,” she told Deadline.

She said the part will likely be announced by the end of the year.

Others have named Lowden as a frontrunner. British TV anchor Richard Osman said he’s also heard the Dunkirk actor is not only in the running but has cinched the deal.

“Someone told me for definite who the new Bond is the other day, but I mean that’s happened before,” he said on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast. “The name I’ve heard is Jack Lowden.”

“It is definitively not a ‘he’s definitely got it’ thing. He is definitely being strongly considered. I think he’d be amazing.”

The next movie will be the first in which long-time controllers of the franchise, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, will not have creative control after striking a deal with Amazon MGM Studios last year.

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