Netflix has released a full-length trailer for the second season of The Gentlemen, days after an offer for Meghan Markle to join the cast of season three was reportedly withdrawn.
Markle's return to acting has reportedly been "cancelled" amid criticism over plans to cast her in the show's third season, which is directed by British film-maker Guy Ritchie.
Netflix confirmed the third series had been greenlit on the same day the season two trailer dropped, on Monday, ahead of the show's September 3 release date.
What happens in season two
The new trailer shows Theo James' character Eddie taking on the Glass criminal empire as he tries to win back full control of his estate. "400 years ago, this estate spread out as far as the eye could see," he says over sweeping shots of the grounds. "I want it all back."
Standing in his way is Bobby Glass, played by Ray Winstone. Bobby is aware that Eddie and Susie, played by Kaya Scodelario, want to expand their criminal empire, and tells them he knows they are hoping he will support their efforts to "decriminalize marijuana."
Giancarlo Esposito also returns in the trailer, urging Eddie on: "Forge your own path. Move away from Bobby Glass."
By the start of the new series, it has been a year since Eddie and Susie joined forces to work together overseas as part of Bobby's operation, but neither agrees with the decisions their boss has been making. With Bobby standing in their way, the pair must decide whether to fall in line or strike out on their own.
The trailer also introduces Hugh Bonneville's character Lord Hawthorne and Maya Jama as a gangster's moll, both of whom joined the cast for the second season.
The Markle casting saga
Over the weekend, it was claimed that Markle had been offered a role in the third instalment of The Gentlemen. But almost as quickly as the news broke, it was reported that the offer had been withdrawn after the reaction in Britain became too "intense," according to royal author Tina Brown.
"I learned that the casting of Meghan Markle has been withdrawn. The backlash was so intense it became untenable to go forward," Brown wrote.
In her Fresh Hell Substack newsletter, Brown added: "This does not bode well for Meghan's acting comeback."
Just four years ago, Markle insisted she had no plans to return to acting. In 2022, she told Variety magazine: "I'm done. I guess never say never but my intention is to absolutely not." More recently, however, sources described as "close to the duchess" had suggested her return to the screen was one of the reasons she and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, were returning to Britain.
Commentators have suggested any acting role for Markle could prove awkward for both the Sussexes and the Royal Family. Baroness Wheatcroft, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "The first thing any actress wants is publicity and Meghan may be a good actress. She is certainly going to be offered roles but she has to be very careful when the inevitable interviews come along not to embarrass the royals."
From Suits to a cameo role
Before marrying Harry in 2018, Markle spent seven seasons playing Rachel Zane in the legal drama Suits, reportedly earning around $40,000 an episode by the time her final episode aired in April that year, one month before the couple married at St George's Chapel in Windsor.
Markle has a small cameo in the upcoming film Close Personal Friends, starring Brie Larson and Lily Collins, though a source connected to the project described the appearance to The Mail on Sunday as little more than fleeting. A role in Ritchie's The Gentlemen would have marked a far more significant return to acting.
Netflix declined to comment, while a spokesman for the duchess would not confirm or deny that the offer had been withdrawn. The possibility of Markle joining the cast first emerged last week, when sources said she was in "advanced discussions" about joining the third season.
The Gentlemen follows an English aristocrat who discovers that the estate he has inherited conceals a lucrative marijuana-growing operation.
Backlash online
Reports that Ritchie was considering creating a role for Markle were met with an immediate wave of criticism on social media. On Netflix's Instagram account for The Gentlemen, one viewer warned: "If Guy Ritchie hires Markle to go on Season 3, his ratings will drop fast." Another wrote: "Many will boycott The Gentlemen if MM is in the cast. I loved the series but cannot watch the new series if she is in it."
Others said they would refuse to watch the programme "out of principle," citing anger over Markle's claims about her treatment by the Royal Family.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Markle and Harry intended to move from the United States to Britain with their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.
A source at Disney studios told the MoS: "Every so often people around [Hollywood] get calls about whether there are any gigs for Meghan but she's a polarising choice... She's not someone I would want in one of my shows because you're alienating a large part of your audience before you shoot a single frame."
Brown, the author of The Diana Chronicles and The Palace Papers, told the MoS she believed the duchess may have become too toxic for mainstream TV roles: "The backlash was too intense for Ritchie to proceed."
Netflix deal history
Markle and Harry signed a $100million, five-year deal with Netflix in 2020, but it lapsed last year after the streaming giant declined to renew it. Their Harry & Meghan docuseries was the most-viewed in Netflix's history, but subsequent projects fared less well. The lifestyle show With Love, Meghan drew mixed reviews and was not renewed, while Harry's polo series failed to find an audience.
The MoS reported that Markle could yet find success in the theatre. West End PR expert Mark Borkowski said: "I've had two West End managements calling me up for a PR view on if they should approach Meghan... They were asking if she would sell tickets and I told them absolutely."
Season two release details
The Gentlemen was created and co-written by Ritchie, alongside co-writer Matthew Read. Episodes in the new season are directed by Ritchie and Eran Creevy, and the show is executive produced by Ritchie, Read, Will Gould, Frith Tiplady, Simon Crawford Collins and Ivan Atkinson.
The series is made by Moonage Pictures, at ITV Studios and Miramax Television. Netflix begins streaming Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen season two on September 3, 2026.
