The road to finding the next James Bond is in its final stretch, and things are getting tense. Rumors were already flying left and right about who was in the running to play the legendary 007 in Denis Villeneuve‘s new film, but they soon went into overdrive when word of the official shortlist got out. Jack Barton, Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal, and Harris Dickinson are all the names currently attached to the coveted role, with Barton believed by some insiders to be the favorite after emerging from a global search for lesser-known stars. However, the race quickly took another sharp turn when Gary Oldman spoke up.

The Oscar winner caused quite a stir over the weekend after an interview with Canadian broadcaster Global in which he addressed his Slow Horses co-star Lowden’s chances and revealed he had heard the next Bond had already been decided upon. “It’s been rumored that he’s on the shortlist,” he said. “We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack.” How he phrased his response led to plenty of confusion over whether he meant Amazon MGM had their Bond, in general, or if he was specifically saying Lowden was the choice. From there, the headlines spread like wildfire.

Now, given the chance to clarify at a Visionaries session at the Toronto International Film Festival hosted by Josh Horowitz, Oldman asserted it was the former, all while joking about how he accidentally became the focus of global attention. “There’s six people on a shortlist,” he said. “I heard a rumor that they’ve picked James Bond, but they haven’t announced it yet, which is their prerogative. So I do not know [who has got the part], but I’m hoping it’s Jack.” For the record, he added that had he actually possessed some “red phone” to contact the Bond team, he’d guard that secret with his life. After all, he already knows what it’s like to accidentally leak some massive entertainment news after he “got in a lot of trouble” for revealing there would be a third film in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight trilogy.