Jack Lowden is now the bookmakers’ favorite for the new James Bond. William Hill moved him from 6/1 to 5/4 on August 17, 2026, after a flurry of bets pushed him past the rest of the field.
The shift puts the Slow Horses lead at the front of a market that has moved fast this week. It also collides with a casting search that is still running, not a role that has been handed out.
William Hill moves first
6/1 became 5/4 in a matter of days, which is a sharp enough swing to change the betting favorite rather than just narrow the pack. For bookmakers, that kind of move usually means money has clustered around one name, and in this case it was Lowden.
32 percent on Kalshi gives him the same lead from a different angle, with Callum Turner at 27 percent and Jacob Elordi at 13 percent. Put together, those figures show a market that is still open, but no longer spread evenly across the obvious contenders.
Richard Osman names Lowden
“The name I’ve heard is Jack Lowden,” Richard Osman said on The Rest Is Entertainment. He added that Lowden “is definitely being strongly considered.”
That lines up with a formal talent search that Nina Gold began in May, with final-round auditions taking place this month. Denis Villeneuve is set to direct the next Bond for Amazon MGM Studios, and Amy Pascal and David Heyman are producing it, which means the decision sits with a serious film-making team rather than a loose rumor mill.
Slow Horses and 007
Lowden’s current profile comes from River Cartwright on Slow Horses, a role that keeps him in the spy lane while still making him look like a different kind of operator from 007. Apple TV+ dropped the season 6 trailer on August 18, 2026, and the new season starts on September 16, 2026, with weekly episodes through the October 21 finale.
That timing keeps Lowden visible while the Bond search is still live. It also puts pressure on the idea that Amazon MGM Studios wants a relatively unknown British actor in his late 20s or early 30s, because Lowden is already a familiar TV lead at 36.
End of year window
Pascal told Deadline, “I would say the end of the year is a good bet.” For readers tracking the market, that is the practical horizon: the betting favorite can shift again, but the real answer should arrive only when the casting process closes.
Until then, Lowden sits in the strongest market position and in the most awkward part of the profile debate. His name is leading the odds, but the role still has to fit the age and anonymity the studio appears to want.
