Meghan Markle and The Gentlemen: A Role That Might Happen, Might Not, and Somehow Still Could

Meghan Markle may or may not be joining Guy Ritchie's Netflix series The Gentlemen — depending on which report you read, and which day you read it.

The rumour mill began churning on Friday, 21 August 2026, when Deadline reported that Markle, 45, might team up with Ritchie for a return to acting in the edgy drama about aristocrats and criminals running a cannabis empire. PEOPLE confirmed the same day that she was being eyed for a part, noting the show's second season premieres 3 September. The original claim that sparked the frenzy, though, came from Australian royal reporter Bronte Coy, who said on Sky News Australia that Markle planned to "return to acting" and was relocating to the UK partly for that reason, stating "there is a role in the works" (Variety).

The Hollywood Reporter then reported on 22 August that Markle had been dropped from consideration. A follow-up report claimed the role had been canned due to "backlash." But Variety, citing a well-placed source, pushed back hard: the potential role was an "incredibly nascent concept" that was hardly "real on any level." The same Variety report said the role could still happen.

So where do things actually stand? Variety reported on 21 August that Markle was in very early talks to join The Gentlemen Season 3, with her potential role not yet identified and no deal in place. That is, as of the most recent reporting, the most accurate description of the situation: early talks, nothing signed, nothing ruled out.

The timing of the leak was awkward for Netflix. Reports that Markle was being eyed for the show broke days ahead of the platform's planned full-length trailer release for Season 2, dominating the news cycle for 24 hours (Variety). Netflix had lined up a full launch campaign for 3 September: a trailer, a Season 3 renewal announcement, a junket, a press conference, and a red-carpet premiere at a historic London venue with an afterparty.

The Season 3 renewal itself had a messy path to confirmation. Deadline reported on a Friday that The Gentlemen had not yet been renewed for a third season — even though those working on the series knew it was well into pre-production with cameras set to roll imminently. Two days later, on 3 September, the renewal was officially announced.

Season 2, launching 3 September, will see Eddie Horniman and Susie Glass grow their business internationally, taking to lakeside villas (Variety). Markle largely stepped back from acting after marrying Prince Harry in 2018. She was set to make a cameo as herself in an upcoming Amazon project (Variety).

Separately, BBC soap EastEnders issued a casting call for a new character named "Meghan" — a member of the Hawkins family who will work as a "senior member of the team behind a bar" (Variety). No indication the character is based on the Duchess of Sussex.

For now, the only certainty is that The Gentlemen Season 2 arrives on Netflix on 3 September, Season 3 is officially going ahead, and whether Markle appears in it remains, in the words of Variety's source, barely real — but not yet dead.