The Gentlemen Season 3 Cast Revealed: Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood Join — Meghan Markle’s Rumored Role Doesn’t Happen

Netflix’s poshest crime family is about to get a whole lot more crowded — and one rumored guest star won’t be joining the party.

The streamer has confirmed that The Gentlemen season three is officially in production, and along with the news came a cast list that reads like a “wait, who?” highlight reel. Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood are boarding Guy Ritchie’s aristocratic underworld, joined by Robert Carlyle, Dexter Fletcher, Bruna Marquezine, Ed Speleers, Saffron Burrows and British rapper Bugzy Malone.

But the name everyone was watching for? Nowhere to be found.

It confirms what recent reports had been suggesting: Meghan Markle is not part of the season three cast. Not long after it was revealed that Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, were moving back to the UK, chatter started up that one of the reasons behind the move was Meghan being in talks to appear in the new season of the hit Netflix series. It was a genuinely juicy rumor — the Duchess of Sussex returning to acting in a Guy Ritchie production, on the streamer’s biggest British hit no less. For a moment there, it actually seemed plausible.

Apparently not. According to Just Jared, Meghan’s name is missing from the official cast list, which suggests whatever talks may have happened didn’t pan out. And there’s a little extra spice in the mix: one of her friends has reportedly made a big allegation against Netflix over the whole situation. No specifics, no named source — just the kind of behind-the-scenes smoke that keeps entertainment journalists’ phones buzzing for days.

To be fair, Netflix has never confirmed that Meghan was ever in the frame. The story lived entirely in the world of “reported to be in talks,” which in Hollywood can mean anything from a signed deal to a publicist floating an idea over lunch. But the timing of it — announced right as the Sussexes’ UK return made headlines — gave the whole thing a sheen of plausibility that was hard to ignore. And you can see why the idea caught fire: after her post-royal media ventures, a prestige TV comeback in a buzzy crime drama would have been the kind of career pivot that gets people talking for weeks.

Who’s joining the Halstead estate?

The new additions are a genuinely eclectic bunch, which is exactly what you’d expect from a show that mixes Savile Row suits with gunfights. Let’s break them down.

Orlando Bloom headlines the newcomers, and honestly, this might be the most inspired bit of casting. Bloom has spent years trying to shake off the pretty-boy elf archetype with grittier roles, and a Guy Ritchie crime caper is exactly the right sandbox. He knows how to wear a costume and swagger, and Ritchie’s dialogue has a way of making handsome men suddenly very dangerous.

Elijah Wood is the other big head-turner. Wood has built an impressively weird and wonderful post-Lord of the Rings career — horror films, offbeat comedies, a stint as a surprisingly excellent supporting player in prestige TV. Whatever Ritchie has in store for him, it’s hard to imagine Wood signing on for something boring. His brand at this point is “character actor with mainstream goodwill,” which is catnip for a show like this.

Robert Carlyle needs no introduction to anyone who’s seen Trainspotting or The Full Monty — and frankly, dropping Begbie himself into Ritchie’s world feels like a collision that’s been overdue for decades. Carlyle can do menace in his sleep, but he’s also got the dry wit to hold his own in a room full of sharp-tongued criminals.

Then there’s Dexter Fletcher, who’s had a fascinating second act as a director (Rocketman, Eddie the Eagle) but clearly still loves getting in front of the camera. Brazilian star Bruna Marquezine — who broke out stateside in Blue Beetle — continues her English-language ascent. Ed Speleers, Saffron Burrows and Bugzy Malone round out the new blood, and on paper it’s a mix of prestige cred, fresh faces and genuine unpredictability.

The old guard is back — thankfully

While the new names grab the headlines, the real relief for fans is the returning roster. Theo James is back as Eddie Horniman, the reluctant duke who inherited both a crumbling estate and a thriving cannabis empire, and Kaya Scodelario returns as Susie Glass, the razor-sharp operator who was quite possibly the breakout character of the entire first season.

Joining them: Ray Winstone, Joely Richardson, Vinnie Jones, Jasmine Blackborow, Harry Goodwins, Benjamin Clementine and Maya Jama. That’s a rock-solid ensemble — Winstone and Jones are basically Ritchie royalty at this point, and Jama’s turn in the show earned her genuine acting plaudits from people who only knew her from presenting.

The chemistry between James and Scodelario was the engine of the first season — two people who absolutely should not trust each other, scheming side by side while clearly having the time of their lives. Whatever the new season throws at them, that dynamic is the foundation everything else gets built on.

Season three goes bigger — much bigger

Here’s the official logline, and it’s a doozy: “In series three, Eddie (James) and Susie (Scodelario) embark upon their most audacious project yet: building a casino in the Middle East. But with danger lurking around every corner, has the Duke’s unchecked ambition finally gone too far?”

A casino. In the Middle East. Built by a broke British aristocrat and a criminal mastermind. What could possibly go wrong?

It’s a smart escalation. The first season kept things (relatively) local — a country estate, a drug operation, the usual London gangland suspects. Season two presumably broadened the canvas, and now season three is going full international. The Middle East setting opens up a whole new world of villains, partners and double-crosses, and it gives Ritchie the chance to do that fish-out-of-water thing he loves: very English people in places where their charm and cheek only get them so far.

There’s also a fun tension in the logline itself. “Has the Duke’s unchecked ambition finally gone too far?” Eddie started the series as the reluctant heir — the good son, the soldier, the one who didn’t want any of this. Watching him evolve from moral compass to the guy driving an audacious international casino scheme is exactly the kind of character decay that makes for great television. Walter White would nod approvingly.

What this means for the show

The Gentlemen has been one of Netflix’s quietest success stories — a British crime series that didn’t need to chase the global spotlight to find it. Ritchie’s style is unmistakable: kinetic editing, arch dialogue, villains with better tailoring than the heroes. In a streaming era where so much content feels focus-grouped into mush, there’s something almost rebellious about a show that knows exactly what it is and doubles down on it.

The casting for season three suggests Netflix is treating this as a flagship rather than a niche hit. Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood are not “ensemble filler” names — they’re get-the-posters-printed names. And expanding into a Middle East casino storyline signals real ambition, the kind of budget-and-scope commitment that says the streamer believes the show can go even bigger.

As for Meghan Markle? Her absence will be a footnote by the time the season actually drops, but it’s a fun what-if. Would she have fit into Ritchie’s world? She’s got the acting chops from her Suits days, and the meta-textual chaos of a duchess playing in a criminal underworld drama would have been irresistible. But sometimes the rumor is better than the reality — and honestly, the cast as it stands doesn’t need the extra tabloid gravity. It’s already stacked.

Season three of The Gentlemen is now in production. No premiere date yet, but if the last seasons are any guide, it’ll be well worth the wait. Dust off your tailoring — the Hornimans are back in business, and this time they’re going international.

Source: Just Jared