A Netflix executive declined to shoot down speculation that Meghan Markle could join the cast of “The Gentlemen” for its upcoming third season, offering a cryptic response that has only intensified weeks of tabloid speculation about the Duchess of Sussex’s potential return to acting.

Manda Levin, Netflix’s scripted chief in the United Kingdom, was asked directly about the rumored casting while speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday. According to Deadline, which first reported the exchange, Levin responded with just four words: “All bets are off.” She did not elaborate further during the panel, and Netflix executives offered no additional comment on the matter at the event.

The remark came the same day Markle and Prince Harry landed in the United Kingdom with their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, as the family relocates back to Harry’s home country after years based in Montecito, California. Multiple outlets, including PEOPLE, have reported that the couple’s children are expected to begin school in England in the coming days.

Speculation about a potential role for Markle first surfaced when Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reported that the Duchess had been in early talks to join “The Gentlemen,” the Guy Ritchie-created crime drama that was officially renewed for a third season earlier this week. Sources described the conversations as being at a preliminary stage, according to Deadline’s reporting, and the Hollywood Reporter noted separately that any role being considered for Markle was still being written into scripts, making it unclear how many episodes she might appear in were a deal to be finalized.

The reports have not gone uncontested. Royal commentator Tina Brown reported that any casting offer had since been withdrawn amid intense backlash in the United Kingdom, with Brown writing that the reaction had become severe enough to make moving forward untenable, according to reporting from the Daily Beast. Netflix has not confirmed or denied that specific characterization, and no formal casting announcement has been made public.

“The Gentlemen,” which stars Theo James and Kaya Scodelario, follows an aristocratic family drawn into a criminal cannabis empire after inheriting a sprawling English country estate. The series, a spinoff of Ritchie’s 2019 film of the same name, premiered on Netflix in March 2024 and films on location in the United Kingdom. Its second season is scheduled to debut Sept. 3, and the show’s third-season renewal was announced this week alongside comments from Ritchie, who said in a statement that the show’s ambitions have grown and that a follow-up season felt inevitable.

Any appearance in “The Gentlemen” would mark Markle’s first significant scripted acting role since she stepped away from the legal drama “Suits” ahead of her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry. Markle played paralegal-turned-lawyer Rachel Zane on the USA Network series from 2011 to 2018, a role that brought her widespread recognition before she left acting to take on royal duties. She has appeared on screen in the years since in nonfiction formats, including the 2022 Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan” and the lifestyle series “With Love, Meghan,” but has not taken on a dramatic acting role in nearly a decade.

A potential casting would also keep any new project within Netflix’s ecosystem, where Markle and Prince Harry hold a first-look production deal covering both film and television projects through their company, Archewell Productions. That overall partnership has had a mixed track record in recent months. Netflix ended its distribution partnership with Markle’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, in March, and the streamer has not renewed “With Love, Meghan” for a third season after its second season drew a smaller audience than its debut run, according to industry sources cited by multiple outlets covering the shows’ performance.

A source close to the couple told PEOPLE that talks about Markle’s return to acting had been ongoing for some time before “The Gentlemen” opportunity arose, and another source told Page Six earlier this month that entertainment industry inquiries were being weighed, though nothing had been finalized. Separately, a source previously told the Sun that Prince Harry was supportive of his wife exploring new acting opportunities and wanted her to pursue projects that brought her satisfaction.

Beyond “The Gentlemen,” Markle is already set to make a brief on-screen appearance as herself in the upcoming Amazon MGM comedy “Close Personal Friends,” alongside actors Brie Larson and Lily Collins, a project that had been reported last November as evidence of her broader return to acting after years away from scripted work. No release date has been announced for that film.

Whether Markle ultimately joins “The Gentlemen” cast remains unconfirmed, and Netflix’s ambiguous public posture, neither confirming nor denying the reports, has left room for continued speculation as the show moves toward its third-season production. A representative for Markle did not respond to requests for comment on the reported talks.