Meghan Markle was merely one name among many tossed around by director Guy Ritchie as he mulled over early ideas for the third series of The Gentlemen, an insider has suggested.
The Duchess of Sussex, who spent seven seasons playing lawyer Rachel Zane in the American legal drama Suits before her engagement to Prince Harry, denied any return to acting in 2022.
“I’m done. I guess never say never but my intention is to absolutely not,” she told Variety.
Despite this, rumours of her return to the small screen in a future series of Mr Ritchie’s crime drama has been swirling over the last week – but sources suggest Meghan is far from being a concrete casting decision.
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The notion of Meghan appearing in the Netflix gangster drama was “an incredibly nascent concept” that was hardly considered “real on any level,” a source told Variety.
Mr Ritchie apparently floated the 45-year-old’s name as part of “a smorgasbord of names” during preliminary creative discussions, long before the royal couple’s return to Britain was announced.
There was no indication whatsoever that contracts were close to being signed.
The source expressed bewilderment at how the duchess had even become aware of Mr Ritchie’s suggestion, unless direct conversations had taken place of which they had no knowledge.
Yet notably, nobody from Meghan’s team made any effort to deny the reports as they surfaced throughout the day. The source suspects the story may have been deliberately seeded or at least stoked by her representatives, serving to acclimatise the public to the idea of her return to acting and also signal to producers that she is available for work.
“I’m stunned if this isn’t coming from her [camp],” the source told the outlet.
The Times of London similarly reported that the Gentlemen story had been “leaked to bolster her acting credentials.”
The fallout has been keenly felt by those involved in the second series, which launches on Netflix on September 3.
The streamer had spent months meticulously planning a phased promotional campaign, complete with a trailer, a junket, a press conference and a red-carpet premiere at a historic London venue followed by a glamorous afterparty.
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That entire publicity strategy was inadvertently derailed by the Meghan saga, which dominated the news cycle for a full 24 hours just days before the planned trailer release.
The saga began last Friday when Australian royal reporter Bronte Coy claimed on Sky News Australia that the duchess was planning a return to acting, partly motivating the couple’s relocation to Britain.
Within hours, The Hollywood Reporter identified the mystery project as being at Netflix, prompting feverish speculation about whether it might be Bridgerton, The Diplomat or even Black Mirror.
Deadline then pinpointed The Gentlemen roughly 40 minutes later, which claimed the show had not yet been renewed for a third series – when in fact pre-production was already well under way.
On Monday, People magazine reported that Meghan “remains in talks despite recent reports to the contrary, though no deal has been finalised.”
With scripts for the third series still being written by Mr Ritchie and co-writer Matthew Read, a part could yet be fashioned for the duchess.
“I wouldn’t rule out it happening,” the source said of the current state of play.
The third series is unlikely to reach screens before 2028.
Both Meghan and Mr Ritchie are represented by the talent agency William Morris Endeavor, raising the possibility that the idea was shared between their respective agents.
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