Gary Oldman claims new James Bond actor will be revealed 'soon'... as costar Jack Lowden becomes frontrunner

Gary Oldman says the new James Bond has already been picked and the public is set to find out soon.

The Slow Horses actor, 68, made the claim while talking about his Apple TV+ co-star on Canada’s The Morning Show Friday, adding that he has his fingers crossed for Jack Lowden.

‘It’s been rumored that he’s on the shortlist,’ Oldman told the host. ‘We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him.’

The Oscar-winner clarified: ‘They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet.’

Lowden has been tipped as the front-runner to play the next James Bond, with 007 producers said to be 'strongly considering' the star.

Speculation about who will take over from Daniel Craig has been rife for months and recently heightened after Amazon MGM Studios announced in May that auditions were finally taking place.

The job of finding the next Bond now falls to casting director Nina Gold and director Denis Villeneuve.

Presenter Richard Osman has now teased that he has been told who is likely to take on the role.

Speaking to his co-host Marina Hyde on the latest episode of his podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, Osman said: 'Someone told me for definite who the new Bond is the other day, but I mean that's happened before. The name I've heard is Jack Lowden.'

Richard cautioned: 'It is definitely not a "he's definitely got it" thing. He is definitely being strongly considered. I think he'd be amazing.'

Marina agreed, pointing out that at 36, Lowden is 'a good age. You have to have the longevity. They've got to do at least two movies, and he's a good age for it.'

Osman said the actor has 'real Daniel Craig energy,' adding that he 'is such a brilliant actor. Can be funny, can definitely do action. I mean, I think he'd be sensational.'

Lowden, who also had a role in Christopher Nolan's epic Dunkirk, is set to star as another leading man, Mr Darcy in Netflix's anticipated Pride And Prejudice adaptation, coming to the streamer later this year.

Lowden's wife, the actress Saoirse Ronan, 32, has previously backed her husband for the 007 role. 

When she co-hosted a 2024 BBC Radio 2 show with Scottish DJ Edith Bowman, Bowman brought up her belief that Lowden would be a great choice for the iconic role, adding that she had been making a similar argument for years.

In response, Ronan said: ‘I’m going to start counting how many times you plug him for Bond on the radio.’

When Bowman replied she had been doing so for six years, Ronan responded: ‘Hasn’t happened yet though,’ before adding: ‘There’s time, there’s time’.

Meanwhile, she can see herself as a villain in the franchise.

When Bowman replied she had been doing so for six years, Ronan responded: ‘Hasn’t happened yet though,’ before adding: ‘There’s time, there’s time’.

When Bowman replied she had been doing so for six years, Ronan responded: ‘Hasn’t happened yet though,’ before adding: ‘There’s time, there’s time’.

‘I want to go dark,’ the actress told Empire last month. ‘I said that I wanted to be a Bond villain and I’m dead serious.’

She added: ‘I think it would be really interesting, having a young female villain. Especially for girls and women, to see someone who can just take all that pent-up anger and direct it somewhere; there’s something interesting in that dramatically. So I would love to do more of that.