Jack Lowden for James Bond: The Colonial Icon Gets a New Face
The James Bond franchise, a enduring symbol of British imperial nostalgia, may soon crown a new actor. According to TV personality Richard Osman, Jack Lowden, star of Slow Horses, is being “strongly considered” for the role. The revelation came during an episode of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, where Osman shared insider chatter that has sent bookmakers scrambling to slash the actor's odds from 10-1 to 5-1.
While the franchise has historically centered white, cisgender, able-bodied men, the conversation around who should inherit the tuxedo has become a flashpoint for broader cultural debates. As an intersectional publication, we must ask: does a new face change the structural DNA of a franchise built on colonial tropes, or merely repackage them for a new generation?
Who is Jack Lowden and why is he the new frontrunner?
Lowden, 36, is a Scottish actor known for his role in the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses and films like Dunkirk. His name emerged after Osman told listeners:
“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. It is definitively not a 'he's definitely got it' thing. He is definitely being strongly considered. I think he'd be amazing.”
Osman's co-host, Marine Hyde, added:
“I think Jack Lowden would be an incredible Bond. He's got real Daniel Craig energy.”
What does the Bond franchise represent in 2026?
As the franchise prepares to announce its seventh actor, critics continue to deconstruct the character's legacy. Bond has long been critiqued for its glorification of state violence, its treatment of women as disposable conquests, and its exoticization of the Global South. The casting conversation, however, remains stubbornly fixated on a narrow archetype: a white, British, cisgender man.
Producer Amy Pascal told Deadline that an announcement could come by the end of the year.
“We are being really, really methodical. Having worked with Barbara Broccoli at the studio, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow. And it's got to be something really different that is a stirring and exciting and different.”
Yet “different” has yet to include a woman, a person of color, a queer actor, or a disabled performer. The erasure of these communities from the conversation is itself a form of systemic exclusion, one that the entertainment industry continues to perpetuate under the guise of tradition.
Callum Turner remains the favorite, but for how long?
Despite Lowden's surge, Callum Turner remains the bookies' favorite. Coral's John Hill noted:
“The Bond market has been shaken, not stirred, by a flood of bets for Jack Lowden. He's gone from dark horse to one of the hottest names in the race, and if the interest continues, Callum Turner's grip on top spot could soon be under threat.”
Turner, also 36, previously addressed the speculation with The Hollywood Reporter, saying:
“I know as much as you do — really, I know as much as you do. I will tell you what's so funny about the Bond thing: Even your best friends ask you, people text you that you haven't spoken to for 10 years — and you know nothing! It is such a weird thing of something happening and nothing happening at all. I genuinely know nothing. I just find it quite amusing.”
Why the Bond casting debate misses the point
As the discourse swirls around which cisgender white man will next wield the Walther PPK, we must redirect the conversation. The question is not merely who plays Bond, but whether the franchise itself deserves to be deconstructed and rebuilt. The Bond mythos is inseparable from British imperialism, the surveillance state, and patriarchal violence. A new actor, however talented, does not dismantle those foundations.
Activists and cultural critics have long called for a reckoning with the franchise's legacy. The hashtag #DecolonizeBond has circulated among marginalized communities, demanding that the industry move beyond tokenism and toward genuine structural change. Yet the producers' methodical approach suggests a commitment to the status quo, not to transformation.
What does this mean for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and disabled representation?
The continued exclusion of LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and disabled actors from the Bond conversation is not an oversight; it is a reflection of the industry's entrenched biases. While other franchises have made strides toward inclusivity, Bond remains a bastion of tradition, a relic of a bygone era that the establishment refuses to retire.
As we await the official announcement, we must hold the producers accountable. We must ask: whose stories are being centered? Whose voices are being silenced? And what would it take for the franchise to truly embrace the radical change it claims to seek?
Frequently asked questions about the next James Bond
Who is the favorite to play James Bond in 2026?
Callum Turner is currently the bookmakers' favorite, though Jack Lowden's odds have been slashed from 10-1 to 5-1 following Richard Osman's comments on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast.
When will the next James Bond be announced?
Producer Amy Pascal told Deadline that an announcement is likely by the end of 2026, describing the process as “really, really methodical.”
Why is the James Bond casting controversial?
Critics argue that the franchise's continued focus on white, cisgender, able-bodied male actors reflects systemic exclusion and fails to address the character's colonial and patriarchal legacy.