Gary Oldman has added a particularly intriguing claim to the long-running search for Daniel Craig's successor. Asked about Slow Horses co-star Jack Lowden and the persistent Bond speculation surrounding him, Oldman said the people behind the franchise have already made their choice.
They simply have not announced it yet, according to him.
That does not amount to Oldman revealing Lowden as 007. In the same comments, he said he has his fingers crossed for his co-star, which makes the distinction fairly clear: Oldman claims the casting decision exists, while apparently not knowing whether Lowden is the person selected.
Lowden has been in the Bond conversation for a while
There is an obvious reason for Oldman's enthusiasm. He has worked opposite Lowden for years on Slow Horses, where Lowden plays MI5 agent River Cartwright.
It is espionage experience of a distinctly un-Bond-like sort. Slough House specializes in administrative humiliation, compromised operations and agents who have already damaged their careers. Lowden nevertheless has spent six seasons playing a young British intelligence officer under pressure.
His name has repeatedly surfaced in reporting about the 007 search. Other actors connected to the process in recent coverage have included Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson and Jack Barton.
None has been officially announced as James Bond.
Amazon MGM's public position is still more cautious
Oldman's claim also runs ahead of the latest formal statement from the franchise.
In May 2026, Amazon MGM Studios said through the official 007 website that the search for the next James Bond was underway. The studio added that it did not intend to discuss specific details while casting was in progress and would share news when the time was right.
There has been no subsequent official announcement naming Craig's replacement.
Oldman may have heard more recent industry chatter. His position within British film and television certainly puts him closer to those circles than the average Bond fan. That still does not turn an actor's remark into a studio confirmation.
The movie around the new Bond is already taking shape
Whoever gets the tuxedo will enter a project with several major creative decisions already settled.
Denis Villeneuve is directing the next James Bond film. Amy Pascal and David Heyman are producing, while Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is writing the screenplay.
Amazon MGM Studios now holds creative control of the franchise following its agreement with longtime Bond stewards Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Wilson and Broccoli remain co-owners of the intellectual property, but the arrangement placed the next phase of the films under Amazon MGM's creative leadership.
Five years of speculation may finally be approaching an answer
Daniel Craig ended his five-film run with No Time To Die in 2021. Since then, the absence of a concrete production timetable allowed the casting debate to become almost a separate entertainment franchise.
That situation has changed. Villeneuve is attached, Knight is writing and the producing team is in place.
Oldman believes the lead actor has now been decided too.
The only part still missing is the announcement.
