Possible spoilers for Slow Horses season six ahead

All year there’s been speculation about the new James Bond, with Denis Villeneuve taking over the franchise. Some of that speculation has been bullsh-t, or strategically leaked and/or placed information in the game of chess between those who are in contention for the role. From the more reliable outlets, Deadline reported earlier in the summer that a shortlist of candidates would be screen-testing in August. A few weeks after that, while promoting season six of Slow Horses, Gary Oldman was asked about it and his remarks were widely shared even though what he was saying was unclear, so he had to clarify a few days later that he’d heard the rumour that they had indeed cast the new Bond and that while he didn’t know who it is, he was hoping it would be his co-star Jack Lowden. Jack’s wife, Saoirse Ronan, was then asked about it a few weeks after that and she refused to engage.

Which brings us to this week. In his most recent newsletter, Jeff Sneider aka The Insneider wrote that:

“On the news front, I’m hearing that Amazon MGM has completed the testing process for James Bond, and while I haven’t heard much, I do know that Jacob Elordi and Jack Lowden were part of it. I fully expect the studio and director Denis Villeneuve (who loves his young movie stars) to choose Elordi, as the internet has suspected from the very beginning. Stay tuned, as we may get word about 007 very, very soon…”

This has kicked off a new round of Bond buzz focusing on Jack and Jacob, and even though Jeff Sneider was simply sharing his professional opinion, the internet has assumed that Jacob is now the frontrunner. Jeff then added this on Twitter yesterday:

LOL, basically, Denis Villeneuve is casting for the algorithm and Jacob Elordi is THIRSTY. Of course he’s thirsty, even though he’s been out here talking about how he doesn’t want to be a superhero but basically despo to become a superhero spy? I have more questions…

How is a superspy supposed to blend in with that height? And also, if Jacob Elordi is really the new James Bond, will his relationship with Kendall Jenner survive it? How quickly will he press the eject button?

Me, personally, if it’s between the two of them, my vote is Jack Lowden all the way. Jack may not have the overall name recognition on the algorithm that Jacob does right now but it’s only a matter of time. As in, only a matter of weeks. Those of us who are locked in hard to Slow Horses are already familiar with what he can bring, but that series (Apple TV’s best ever original) while critically acclaimed probably isn’t as mainstream as it should be. Netflix’s Pride & Prejudice, however, releasing on December 3, will be very, very, VERY mainstream. The Bridgerton audience, automatically, will be bingeing the f-ck out of it. Fans of the BBC series and the 2005 film, also. Plus everyone trying to cozy down with romance and manners in the English countryside. P&P is a classic – and I don’t just mean literature, I mean the trope: enemies to lovers, family scandals and misunderstandings, culminating in confessions at dawn and happy endings; the story is f-cking irresistible. And Jack Lowden is the Mr Darcy for a new generation.

Jacob Elordi can only claim more fame than Jack Lowden for another 40 days.

As for whether or not it might be redundant for Jack to play Bond when he’s already a spy in Slow Horses – the only people who would ever say that Jack’s character in Slow Horses is a good spy are the people who don’t watch Slow Horses. Jack’s River Cartwright is a consistent f-ckup, along with the rest of his colleagues, but not their boss, who remains the grossest but most competent manager. Jack has not yet played a cool and collected spy who also happens to be a legendary lover. In fact, River Cartwright would probably be a terrible lover. That’s what made me laugh … spoiler… at the end of season six when he was trying to be lover and then ended up maybe dead by poisoning, LOL FOREVER this is the most River Cartwright thing to ever happen.

My point is, Bond and River are not the same. But they could be played by the same actor, Jack Lowden, although if he is indeed cast in the role, I’m not sure if that tells us anything about River for season seven because one of the best things – on a long list – about Slow Horses is that they are crack precise and efficient with that production schedule! Six seasons in four years?! And season seven is mostly done, they’re now in production for season eight a year before season seven drops! In theory, Jack totally could have worked on season seven, and they’ll of course not confirm anything about whether or not he is so we can keep guessing about River’s fate. But what I’m saying is one doesn’t necessarily have to do with the other. If the other is even on the table. It could very well be Jacob Elordi…

Or someone else entirely.

What most people do seem to agree on is that the Bond search is over, that they have their man, it’s just a matter of when the announcement will come. Denis Villeneuve’s immediate focus right now is Dune: Part 3 – the box office and the awards campaign because this is the final film in his franchise and they’re hoping for Best Picture. If he wants to keep the two projects separate, they’d either have to make the announcement by early November, at the latest, before the big Dune 3 press tour goes nitro, or wait until the new year and try to squeeze it in during a lull in award season. These are the inside baseball scheduling and logistical meetings I wish I could be a part of.

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Photo credits: Faye's Vision/Cover Images/Instar Images, ZUMAPRESS.com/MEGA/WENN

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