Actor Jack Lowden, known for playing MI5 reject River Cartwright in Apple TV+'s Slow Horses, has emerged as a leading contender to become the next James Bond, according to industry sources. The Scottish actor's rise to potential 007 status matters because it would reunite the role with the Scottish identity Sean Connery gave it, and comes amid a wider scramble over who will inherit the licence to kill after Daniel Craig's departure. Any casting is complicated by the fact Lowden is already committed to Slow Horses, setting up a reported behind-the-scenes tussle between Apple and Amazon, which now controls the Bond franchise.

Amazon acquired creative control of the Bond franchise from the Broccoli family in a multi-billion-dollar deal in February last year, and moviegoers have waited five years since Craig's final film, No Time to Die. Sources say the search for the seventh Bond has been narrowed to a final four, with Lowden mentioned alongside names including Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner, Paul Mescal, Jack O'Connell and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Slow Horses director Saul Metzstein praised Lowden's suitability, citing his wit, while an insider stressed the practical obstacle: "you can't have two franchises and two spies but just one face." Slow Horses' sixth season returns to Apple TV+ on 16 September.