Updated

Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 22

Slow Horses Finale Sparks Jack Lowden Bond Buzz as Bond 26 Casting Nears 2026 End

Updated

Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 22

Slow Horses Finale Sparks Jack Lowden Bond Buzz as Bond 26 Casting Nears 2026 End

Q: Did Slow Horses just kill off its lead star to secretly free him up as the next James Bond?

Probably not. *Slow Horses* ended season six by putting River Cartwright in apparent mortal danger, but there is no confirmed evidence the show killed him off to free Jack Lowden for James Bond. What aired is a cliffhanger, not a confirmed death. River collapses after touching a crowbar apparently contaminated with poison, widely read as Novichok. But the screen cuts to black before any death is shown. That matters, because Mick Herron’s books — the source material — have River survive a similar poisoning, and several reports say the series has left itself the same option. Showrunner Gaby Chiappe has also indicated the ending was designed to be shocking but not fully definitive, noting that people can survive Novichok exposure if treated in time. The Bond theory is understandable because Lowden is one of the actors most heavily rumored for 007, and Gary Oldman has publicly backed him. But that remains speculation. No official Bond casting has been announced, and there is no confirmed report that Lowden is leaving *Slow Horses*. In fact, reporting around season seven has continued to include Lowden among expected returning cast, even if River may have a reduced role while recovering. So the stronger reading is that Apple TV+ staged a high-stakes adaptation-faithful cliffhanger, not a secret scheduling maneuver. The ending may conveniently keep Lowden’s future flexible, but the available evidence points more to suspense than to a confirmed exit-for-Bond plan.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 22

Season 6 of Slow Horses ended with River Cartwright apparently dying from Novichok poisoning, a cliffhanger that immediately intensified talk that Jack Lowden could be freed for James Bond.
Lowden was absent from the Season 7 teaser, and Jackson Lamb’s dark joke about getting a postcard from the afterlife added to the sense that River may be gone.
Mick Herron readers know River survives the poisoning in the novels, so the finale may be a fake-out rather than a definitive exit for Lowden after 6 seasons.
Bond speculation is rising because producer Amy Pascal said the new 007 could be announced by the end of 2026, with Lowden already among the reported frontrunners.
Bond 26 is set to be directed by Denis Villeneuve, written by Steven Knight, start production in 2027 and reach theaters in 2028.