‘Slow Horses’ Star Jack Lowden Emerges as Frontrunner to Be the Next James Bond, According to Reports

The hunt for Daniel Craig’s 007 successor has become one of the longest-running guessing games in modern entertainment, spawning years of speculation, shifting frontrunners, and no shortage of false alarms. Since Craig hung up his tuxedo after 2021’s ‘No Time to Die,’ names ranging from Aaron Taylor-Johnson to Jacob Elordi have cycled through the rumor mill without a single official confirmation from Amazon MGM Studios.

That uncertainty hasn’t stopped public figures from weighing in with their own theories, and podcast host Richard Osman just added a fresh name to the conversation. Best known as the presenter behind “The Rest Is Entertainment” podcast and the author of the “Thursday Murder Club” novels, Osman has built a reputation for having reliable industry sources, which is exactly what made his latest claim spread so quickly.

During a recent episode of the podcast, Osman told co-host Marina Hyde that Scottish actor Jack Lowden is now the name circulating as the actor being “strongly considered” for the role, adding a significant new contender to an already crowded field. Osman was careful to frame the information as strong buzz rather than a done deal, but the specificity of his claim was enough to send fans into a frenzy.

Explaining how he arrived at the tip, Osman told his podcast audience, “Someone told me for definite who the new Bond is the other day, but I mean that’s happened before,” before clarifying that his source pointed specifically to Lowden. He was quick to temper expectations, though, noting the information falls short of confirmation.

“It is definitively not a ‘he’s definitely got it’ thing. He is definitely being strongly considered,” Osman said, adding that he personally believes Lowden would make an incredible Bond. He went further still, describing Lowden as having real Daniel Craig energy and predicting he could become a standout choice if the role does land in his hands.

Hyde, Osman’s co-host, agreed that the 36-year-old actor’s age puts him in a good position for the kind of long-term franchise commitment the Bond role typically demands. Lowden is currently best known for playing River Cartwright in Apple TV+’s “Slow Horses,” opposite Gary Oldman, and has built out a varied filmography that includes Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” the BBC’s “Wolf Hall” adaptation, and “Mary Queen of Scots.”

Lowden’s name joins a lineup of actors who have circulated in Bond speculation over recent months, including Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Louis Partridge, and Tom Francis. Public polling has also floated names like Tom Hardy and Henry Cavill as fan favorites, though Osman expressed skepticism about how seriously such surveys should be taken given the public’s historically mixed track record with Bond predictions.

Producer Amy Pascal has previously suggested that an official announcement regarding the next 007 could arrive before the end of the year, meaning the wait for clarity may not stretch on much longer. Until then, names like Lowden’s are likely to keep circulating, fueled by insider claims, casting rumors, and Bond fans’ insatiable appetite for any scrap of information.

With Lowden also set to appear as Mr. Darcy in Netflix’s upcoming “Pride and Prejudice” adaptation later this year, his profile is only rising regardless of how the Bond casting ultimately shakes out.

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