Meghan Markle’s reported casting in the third season of Netflix’s The Gentlemen has been withdrawn, according to former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown.
The reported casting of Meghan Markle in the third season of The Gentlemen has been withdrawn following what Tina Brown described as intense opposition in Britain.
Brown, the former editor in chief of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, said in a Saturday Substack post that she had learned Markle’s casting had been pulled because the backlash in the UK had made proceeding with the role untenable.
The development follows reports that Markle had been discussing a return to acting through the Netflix crime comedy series. The third season has not yet received an official greenlight, according to Variety.
The Gentlemen is a television spin-off of Guy Ritchie’s 2019 film of the same name. Ritchie created both projects. The original movie starred Matthew McConaughey and Charlie Hunnam.
Markle became widely known for playing Rachel Zane on the legal drama Suits, appearing in seven seasons. She stepped away from acting in 2018 after marrying Prince Harry.
Her other acting credits include appearances on CSI: NY and 90210, as well as film roles in Horrible Bosses and Anti-Social. She also starred in the Hallmark films When Sparks Fly and Dater’s Handbook.
More recently, Markle filmed a cameo as herself in the Amazon comedy Close Personal Friends, alongside Brie Larson and Jack Quaid.
Markle’s reported involvement with The Gentlemen would have represented a return to a substantial scripted acting role after several years away from the profession.
Her relationship with Netflix has continued through projects produced after she and Harry signed a multi-year agreement with the streaming service.
Her major Netflix release has included the lifestyle series With Love, Meghan, which received mixed to negative reviews from critics.
The reported casting withdrawal comes as Markle and Harry are also expected to relocate to Britain with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, after spending six years living in California.
The couple stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and are expected to return as private citizens rather than resume their former royal roles.
There is currently no confirmed indication in the supplied sources that Markle will join The Gentlemen. The show’s third season itself has yet to receive an official greenlight.
