Ronan’s interest puts a fresh spin on the seemingly endless search for Daniel Craig’s successor. Her pitch also points to the kind of darker, more substantial female antagonist a new Bond era could explore.
Saoirse Ronan wants to play a Bond role—specifically, Ronan wants to play a Bond villain—while her husband, Jack Lowden, is rumoured to be in contention for 007. Ronan says she is “dead serious” about joining the James Bond franchise, but Amazon MGM Studios has not confirmed Lowden, Ronan or any other cast member for the next film.
The pairing is still hypothetical, yet it arrives at a decisive moment for Bond. Denis Villeneuve is attached to direct the next installment, Steven Knight is writing it, and the franchise’s next leading man remains one of Hollywood’s most persistent unanswered casting questions.
Ronan wants to go dark
Speaking to Empire while promoting Bad Apples, Ronan said she would like to take on a darker kind of character than audiences may associate with her work in films such as Lady Bird and Little Women.
“I said that I wanted to be a Bond villain and I’m dead serious,” Ronan said. She described the idea of a young female villain as dramatically interesting, particularly one who channels anger into something dangerous and purposeful.
That distinction matters. Ronan was not floating a vague wish to appear in a famous franchise; she identified the antagonist role as the draw. Bond villains are often designed as the hero’s thematic opposite, with room for menace, glamour, ideology and spectacle rather than simply a supporting part in the spy’s orbit.
A role of that scale would also make sense for an actor who has repeatedly chosen character-led material. Ronan’s comments suggest she sees Bond not as a detour from dramatic acting, but as an opportunity to bring intensity to a highly visible commercial series.
Lowden remains only a rumor
Lowden, known for Slow Horses and films including Dunkirk, has appeared on lists of actors speculated to be Daniel Craig’s successor. But the key word remains speculated.
Amazon MGM Studios has not announced the next actor to play James Bond. Other names repeatedly linked by entertainment reports include Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Tom Holland, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Harris Dickinson. A circulating shortlist is not a studio confirmation, and none of those reports settles who has been offered, tested for or accepted the role.
That gap between public fascination and verified information is especially wide with Bond. The role is among the few film jobs where an actor’s name can be treated as a front-runner for months—or years—without a deal ever emerging.
The Hollywood Reporter, in its examination of the Bond rumor cycle, quoted a longtime franchise insider who suggested that nearly all such reports prove wrong. That does not rule out Lowden; it is a reminder that the casting conversation has moved faster than the official process.
A new studio era for Bond
The next film will be the first major test of Amazon MGM Studios’ expanded control over the property. In February 2025, Amazon MGM struck a deal with longtime Bond stewards Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to take full control of the James Bond character and intellectual property.
That change does not automatically reveal the new creative direction, but it raises the stakes around every decision: the actor in the tuxedo, the tone of the reboot, the supporting cast and the kind of threats Bond will face.
Villeneuve’s involvement signals ambition on the directing side. The filmmaker behind Dune, Arrival and Sicario has experience balancing huge-scale filmmaking with tense, psychologically driven characters. Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders, is writing the screenplay.
Neither filmmaker has publicly laid out the story or characters. Knight has kept details close, saying in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he could not discuss the script beyond calling the work “wonderful.”
The villain role has changed
Bond antagonists have always been central to the formula, but the Daniel Craig era pushed them toward more intimate and personal conflicts. Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva in Skyfall, Christoph Waltz’s Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Rami Malek’s Lyutsifer Safin were not merely obstacles; each was framed as a challenge to Bond’s identity or past.
Ronan’s idea of a younger female villain could fit that evolution, though it would depend entirely on the script. The franchise has featured memorable women on both sides of the moral line, but a female character positioned as the principal adversary would carry a different weight from the traditional “Bond girl” template.
There is a creative argument for it: a major antagonist played by an actor of Ronan’s range could give the next film a sharper emotional conflict. There is also a caution. A role cannot be called progressive simply because it changes the villain’s gender; the character would need agency, motive and real narrative authority.
Ronan’s own emphasis on anger suggests she is thinking about that complexity. Her pitch was not for a novelty cameo. It was for a character with force.
Why the couple angle resonates
The possibility of Ronan as a villain and Lowden as Bond is naturally irresistible to fans because it offers a built-in screen dynamic: two accomplished actors who know each other playing opponents in one of cinema’s most recognizable franchises.
Still, the appeal of that idea should not obscure the practical reality. Bond productions cast for a long-term strategy, not simply for a clever headline. The next 007 may be expected to carry multiple films, fit a particular reinvention of the character and work within a production schedule that has not been publicly detailed.
Ronan also has a packed slate. She is set to play Linda McCartney in Sam Mendes’ planned Beatles films and is attached to Alice Rohrwacher’s Three Incestuous Sisters. Whether a Bond role could fit those commitments is unknown.
For now, the confirmed development is Ronan’s interest, not a casting deal. The broader story is that Bond’s next chapter is taking shape behind closed doors, and the public is eager to fill every empty space with names.
What is confirmed and unknown
- Confirmed: Ronan has said she is serious about playing a James Bond villain.
- Confirmed: Denis Villeneuve is set to direct the next Bond film, and Steven Knight is writing it.
- Confirmed: Amazon MGM Studios took full control of the Bond intellectual property in a February 2025 deal with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
- Unconfirmed: Jack Lowden’s casting as 007, or the casting of any actor as the next James Bond.
- Unconfirmed: Whether Ronan has been contacted about a role, what the story will be, and when the film will begin production or reach theaters.
Ronan has offered the clearest possible message about her own interest. Whether Bond’s new decision-makers see the same opportunity—and whether Lowden is even part of their plan—will only be answered by an official announcement.
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