What To Know
- Meghan Markle was reportedly dropped from consideration for a role in season 3 of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentleman.
- The news comes as Markle and Prince Harry are preparing to move back to Britain with their children.
- If cast, the role would have marked Markle’s return to acting since leaving the profession in 2017.
Meghan Markle was dropped from consideration for Guy Ritchie‘s The Gentleman, according to a new report.
On Saturday, August 22, Tina Brown, the former editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, published the news on her Substack.
“I learned this morning that the casting of Meghan Markle in season 3 of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen has been withdrawn,” Brown reported. “The backlash in the UK was so intense, it became untenable to go forward. This does not bode well for Meghan’s acting comeback in the UK.”
Just one day earlier, Deadline reported that Markle, 45, was in early talks to join Season 3 — although The Gentleman has not officially been ordered for a third season, as of writing. A specific role had not been revealed.
The acting news came amid the revelation that the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry were moving back to Britain with their children later this month, six years after stepping back from their royal duties, per the BBC. They have reportedly enrolled Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, at a school across the pond and plan to spend an extended period of time there. However, the Sussexes will keep their Montecito, California, home, too.
If Markle had snagged a role in The Gentleman, it would have marked her return to acting after exiting in 2017 when she and Prince Harry got engaged. She is best known for portraying Rachel Zane in Suits. Markle’s other notable acting credits include A Lot Like Love (2005), Remember Me (2010), and Horrible Bosses (2011). Additionally, she starred in her own lifestyle/cooking series With Love, Meghan on Netflix.
Season 2 of The Gentleman premieres on September 3. The show stars Theo James (who also created the series) in addition to Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson, Vinnie Jones, Michael Vu, Harry Goodwins, Stephan Fichet, Logan Dean, Benjamin Clémentine, and Chanel Cresswell, among others.
The Gentleman, streaming on Netflix