Her husband Jack Lowden is the frontrunner to play the next James Bond, and now Saoirse Ronan has expressed her own desire to join the 007 universe – but not as a Bond girl.

Having made a name for herself playing heroines in films like The Lovely Bones, Lady Bird and Little Women, the Irish actress, 32, has now opened up about her desire to take on a more sinister role.

“I want to go dark,” Ronan told Empire. ”I said that I wanted to be a Bond villain and I’m dead serious.”

The four-time Oscar nominee added that it would be “really interesting” for the franchise to feature a “young female villain”.

“Especially for girls and women, to see someone who can just take all that pent-up anger and direct it somewhere, there’s something interesting in that dramatically. So I would love to do more of that,” she said.

Ronan has voiced her desire to play a Bond baddie in the past, saying in a 2024 interview that she found the characters “very interesting” and would state her desire to play one “again and again”.

However, this is the first time she’s shared this since her husband of two years, Scottish actor Lowden, has taken the lead in speculation to play the next Bond.

Slow Horses star Lowden, who met Ronan on the set of Mary Queen of Scots, has long been in the running to take over from Daniel Craig, but emerged as a frontrunner last week after Richard Osman shared that he’d heard the actor was being “strongly considered” for the role.

The 36-year-old, who welcomed his first child with Ronan last year, has taken over the spot as bookies’ favourite from Callum Turner.

Gossip over who will be the next James Bond long predates Craig’s exit from the franchise in 2021, with casting finally getting underway in May.

Casting for the next James Bond film, which is the first to be made under Amazon MGM Studios, finally got underway in May.

“I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow. And it’s got to be something really different that is stirring and exciting and different,” she added.