Gary Oldman wants Jack Lowden as the next 007 — and Lowden just responded
Jack Lowden’s finally answered Gary Oldman’s viral Bond remark — and his answer nudges the 007 chatter in an intriguing direction.
Right, so the James Bond rumour mill is grinding away again, but this time it's got a decent reason. Jack Lowden — yes, the bloke from Slow Horses — has had to field those ever-circling 007 questions after Gary Oldman practically threw his name into the ring. And if you're keeping tabs, Lowden is actually being talked up as a proper favourite for the next Bond gig. Not just online chitchat — we're talking reported screen tests and serious industry whispers.
The Oldman Effect
Here's how things spiralled: a little while back, Gary Oldman went off-script in an interview with Global News over in Canada, claiming that the next James Bond had already been cast. He happened to mention he's got his fingers crossed for Lowden. Of course, that sent everyone into a Twitter frenzy, even though Oldman admitted almost immediately that he had no legit insider info. Still, the damage (or the hype, depending on your view) was already done, with Lowden's name stuck at the centre of the Bond rumour vortex.
Now, Lowden finally addressed it himself when talking to GQ. Asked point blank about Oldman's comments, he sounded both bemused and politely cagey — very actorly, very on-brand. He played it straight, crediting Oldman as 'a sweetheart', but he was quick to keep his distance from the noise. The man isn't biting.
When GQ brought up Oldman's viral Bond comments, Jack Lowden said: "Oh, Christ... 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. It's very nice, and Gary's a sweetheart — it's particularly lovely, coming from someone like him. But I don't really listen to it."
Lowden had a wry explanation for why his name, and those of so many other young male actors, keep cropping up for Bond. As he put it, as soon as you're not cast as the 'zany artist type' and are seen looking halfway decent in a suit, people start tossing 007 speculation at you.
Screen Tests, Turner, and the New Director
This isn't just hot air: according to recent reports, Lowden was actually pulled in for a last round of screen tests for Bond. Callum Turner — you know, from Fantastic Beasts and Masters of the Air — was apparently in the room with him. The Hollywood Reporter dropped that particular scoop, though nothing's leaked since about how those tests panned out.
Jack Lowden reached the final Bond screen tests alongside Callum Turner.
The situation around the next Bond film is just as shrouded in mystery, but there's one bit of proper news: Denis Villeneuve, he of Dune, Blade Runner 2049, all that, will be directing. According to Empire magazine, Villeneuve was attracted to the project not out of nostalgia, but because, in his words, the idea of Bond 'would be a powerful rocket to pull me away from Arrakis' after finishing his Dune trilogy. He's not keen on a by-the-numbers repeat, either — he says he wants to approach Bond without 'complacency' and stay critical of the material. So, not a fanboy's tribute, then.
As for official production plans, details remain close to the chest. No release window, no shooting start, nothing else to get your teeth into — standard Bond secrecy, really.