Steven Knight would not say whether the next James Bond has already been cast, keeping the next James Bond question open after a Tuesday morning Radio 4 Today interview. He laughed while declining to answer, then said, “I cannot speak about this subject. Much as I would dearly love to.”
Radio 4 Today
During the interview with Anna Foster, Knight said, “It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is, but also you have to write the character, not the actor.” He added that he feels “a responsibility to the text,” and when asked whether he was told at the beginning or halfway through, he answered, “I refer you to my previous answer.”
Knight also laid out the work itself in plain terms: “The thing with Bond is it’s its own universe, and it’s its own franchise. So there are certain rules. I mean, obviously you have to move it along, but I love where it sits. I love that it’s British. I love that it’s not DC or Marvel … So I feel a responsibility to the text.” That puts the writing job ahead of any casting speculation and explains why his answer stayed fixed on the character rather than the actor.
Gary Oldman on Jack Lowden
Gary Oldman added fresh fuel over the weekend when he said on Canada's Global, “We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack.” He also said, “It’s been rumored that he’s on the shortlist,” naming Jack Lowden as the actor he was rooting for.
That claim sits against the earlier summer reporting that auditions were taking place in August. Deadline said producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman, along with Denis Villeneuve, informed shortlisted talent during that process, which suggests the decision moved beyond open speculation and into a smaller, more controlled stage.
August auditions and silence
The gap between those August auditions and Knight’s refusal to talk on Tuesday morning is the story now. One side is a writer speaking carefully because the process is still sensitive; the other is an actor saying the choice has already been made but not announced. Those two positions do not match, and that is exactly why the casting talk keeps running.
For readers tracking the franchise, the practical takeaway is simple: the next James Bond decision is close enough that the people around the project are treating it as active, but not close enough for the name to come out in public. Until that announcement arrives, every comment like Knight’s will do the same thing — keep the speculation alive and give the shortlist another day in the frame.
