Jack Lowden Stays Quiet on Bond: 'I'm Not Going to Add to the Noise'

Jack Lowden has declined to fuel James Bond speculation, telling British GQ: "It's all very flattering. It's nice to be mentioned – for any role – and I'm just not really going to add to the noise." The Scottish actor, widely reported as a frontrunner to succeed Daniel Craig as 007, kept his verdict short and tidy.

Lowden was responding partly to his own co-star. Gary Oldman, who plays Jackson Lamb opposite Lowden's MI5 agent River Cartwright in the Apple TV spy thriller "Slow Horses," publicly backed him for the part in September.

"It's very nice, and Gary's a sweetheart – it's particularly lovely, coming from someone like him," Lowden said. "But I don't really listen to it."

He also offered a theory about why the rumours keep landing on him. "As a young male actor, generally, the minute you're not playing a zany artist type, the minute you're in a suit, people fling it at you," he said. Put a suit on an actor of a certain age, apparently, and the Bond chorus starts.

Where does the casting search actually stand?

Variety reported on Oct. 23 that Amazon MGM Studios was preparing to conduct final screen tests for the role, with Lowden and "Masters of the Air" actor Callum Turner believed to be among the contenders. "Challengers" star Josh O'Connor has reportedly received an offer to test. Other names previously linked to the franchise include Jacob Elordi, Harris Dickinson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Paul Mescal.

Lowden's momentum built in September after Oldman appeared on Canada's "The Morning Show" and suggested producers had already picked Craig's successor. "They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack," the Oscar winner said.

Oldman then walked it back at the Toronto International Film Festival, explaining he had only heard a rumour that producers had selected someone from a six-person shortlist — not that Lowden had the job. "So I do not know [who has gotten the part], but I'm hoping it's Jack," he said. He also joked that headlines had made it sound as though he had a direct line to director Denis Villeneuve. He does not.

What changes under Amazon MGM?

The next Bond film will be the franchise's first since Amazon MGM took creative control from longtime custodians Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson in 2025. Villeneuve is attached to direct. "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight is writing the screenplay, with Amy Pascal and David Heyman producing. Casting director Nina Gold is overseeing the search for the next 007.

Craig last played the role in 2021's "No Time to Die," closing a five-film run that began with 2006's "Casino Royale." An official announcement is widely expected before the end of 2026, though Amazon MGM has confirmed no timeline.

So the wait continues. Lowden, for his part, has decided silence is the smarter audition.