Meghan Markle’s return to scripted television may have ended before it began.
The Duchess of Sussex has reportedly been dropped from consideration for the third season of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix crime drama, The Gentlemen. According to royal biographer Tina Brown, intense opposition in Britain made moving forward with the casting impossible.
Theo James in The Gentlemen Season 2 – Netflix, YouTube
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“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this morning that the casting of Meghan Markle in season 3 of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen has been withdrawn,” Brown wrote on her Substack. “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.”
However, The Sun and News.com.au subsequently cited sources who insisted that negotiations remain active and that “nothing has changed.” People also reported that Meghan remains in early talks, leaving the status of her potential involvement uncertain.
Meghan Markle Reconsiders Acting Retirement
Meghan became famous for playing paralegal Rachel Zane on Suits, appearing in seven seasons before leaving the legal drama in 2018. She stepped away from acting after marrying Prince Harry and becoming a working member of the royal family. However, the couple relinquished their positions as senior working royals in 2020 before moving to North America.
In a 2022 interview with Variety, Meghan appeared to rule out resuming her former career.
“I’m done,” she said. “I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – YouTube, SkyNews Australia
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Her position has apparently changed. Meghan recently filmed a cameo as herself in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios comedy Close Personal Friends, starring Brie Larson and Lily Collins. A role in The Gentlemen, however, would represent a far more substantial return to scripted acting.
The series expands the criminal world introduced in Ritchie’s 2019 movie. It follows an aristocrat who inherits a family estate containing a massive marijuana operation. Theo James and Kaya Scodelario lead the cast.
Netflix recently renewed The Gentlemen for a third season ahead of the second season’s September 3 premiere. Scripts remain in development, and no formal agreement with Meghan has reportedly been completed. If cast, rumors suggest that Meghan could play “the ultimate temptress, who puts the cat among the pigeons by seducing an aristocrat.”
A Difficult Return to Britain
The casting controversy arrives as Meghan and Harry prepare to return to the United Kingdom with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Brown claimed that Meghan’s potential return to acting contributed to the couple’s decision to move. Although Harry and Meghan have worked directly with Netflix in the past, Meghan’s lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, was not renewed for a third season.
Meghan Markle in With Love, Meghan – Netflix, YouTube
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In August 2025, Netflix converted its original overall deal with Harry and Meghan’s production company into a less expansive first-look arrangement. The streamer also ended its partnership with Meghan’s lifestyle brand.
Returning to Britain may create new professional opportunities, but the reaction to Meghan’s reported casting demonstrates that considerable hostility remains.
Netflix may ultimately determine that the attention surrounding Meghan makes her commercially valuable. However, if Brown’s account is accurate, her attempted acting comeback has already encountered the same controversy that has followed nearly every chapter of the Sussexes’ post-royal lives.
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