Bond film could see first ever husband-and-wife casting as Saoirse Ronan eyes up female villain role
The Irish actress, who is married to Bond frontrunner Jack Lowden, said it would be "really interesting" for the film to star a "young, female villain"
The next James Bond film could cast its first ever husband-and-wife after Saoirse Ronan announced she's "dead serious" about playing a female villain.
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Her husband Jack Lowden, 36, is one of the top frontrunners to play the next James Bond.
The Irish actress, who married Lowden in 2024, has pitched to play a Bond villain in the next 007 film.
She recently told Empire magazine: “I want to go dark. I said that I wanted to be a Bond villain, and I’m dead serious."
The 32-year-old said it would be "really interesting" for the film to star a young, female villain".
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“Especially for girls and women, to see someone who can just take all that pent-up anger and direct it somewhere.”
The four-time Oscar nominee is known for playing strong female leads in films such as Lady Bird, Little Women and Mary Queen of Scots.
Ronan has expressed her desire to play a Bond villain before, sharing in 2024 that she found the characters "very interesting" and would re-iterate her willingness to star as one “again and again”.
But her latest comments mark the first time she's spoken publicly on the subject since her husband became a frontrunner for Bond.
Lowden, who welcomed his first child with Ronan last year, recently overtook Callum Turner as the bookies’ favourite for the next Bond.
Other frontrunners to take over from Daniel Craig include Jacob Elordi, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Harris Dickinson.
Casting for the next film, the first to be made by Amazon's MGM studios, started in May.
Producer Amy Pascal recently shared an update on the casting process, hinting that a name could be released by "the end of the year".
“I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow. And it’s got to be something really different that is stirring and exciting and different,” she said.