Theo James is not losing sleep over reports that Meghan Markle could join his Netflix series. In a recent interview with Town & Country, James was asked directly about the possibility of the former royal appearing in Season 3 of The Gentlemen. His response was brief.
"Yes, Fergie is joining. She'll be playing my love interest," James joked, referencing Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson before pivoting to address the Markle reports more seriously. "No, I think that was mainly a lot of hot air," he said.
According to The Wrap, Deadline had first reported that Markle, a former star of Suits, was in early talks to join the Guy Ritchie-produced series for its third season. That reporting came after Markle and her husband Prince Harry moved their family back to the United Kingdom last month, with some reports suggesting the move was connected to Markle's return to acting.
James said his focus right now is on getting audiences to watch Season 2, which premieres Thursday on Netflix. The show has already been renewed for a third season, but he acknowledged that many story details for that future season remain unresolved.
"Season three will happen soon. But in terms of story, we have the overarching ambition of where we're going to go. We're going to expand the world, go to different countries. But in terms of the minutiae, I mean, it's still very much up in the air," he said.
James also connected the show's themes to the current cultural moment. "We live now in a world of the tech oligarch, where headlines seem larger than life and can't be true, but they end up being true," he said. "People are fascinated by the idea of wealth and how wealth can corrupt people, ultimately. That's what we're interested in here."
The Gentlemen follows James as Eddie, a soldier who inherits a massive estate and discovers a hidden weed operation beneath it. Season 2 picks up with Eddie and Susie, played by Kaya Scodelario, expanding their criminal enterprise into Italy.
"With 'The Gentlemen,' and some British shows, there's a romance to ex-colonial Britain, but it's also tinged with all the f–ked-up s–t that we did as an empire," James added. "So there's a lot to be intrigued by, whether it's consciously or subconsciously."
