Meghan Markle’s acting return exposes post-royal ‘lingering problem’: expert

Meghan Markle spent years trying to reinvent herself after leaving royal life — but her latest move could bring her right back to where she started.

With Season 3 of “The Gentlemen” officially greenlit, the Duchess of Sussex remains in talks to join Guy Ritchie’s hit drama, People magazine reported, contradicting earlier reports that the potential deal had fallen through. No deal has been finalized, the outlet said.

“If she returns now, it raises the obvious question — what happened to all those other identities she tried on after leaving royal life?” Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube’s “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered,” told Fox News Digital.

MEGHAN MARKLE’S ACTING RETURN COULD SPARK FRESH PROBLEMS WITH PRINCE WILLIAM, KATE MIDDLETON: EXPERT

“Podcaster, producer, lifestyle entrepreneur, philanthropist, media mogul,” said Schofield. “Returning to acting would suggest that the most viable professional identity Meghan has found may ultimately be the one she walked away from.”

The talks are in “very early stages,” Deadline previously reported. It’s unclear how many episodes she would appear in. The series, which stars Theo James, Kaya Scodelario and Giancarlo Esposito, is filmed in the U.K. and set in England.

Meghan has already dipped her toe back into acting. In 2025, she filmed a small cameo as herself in Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming comedy “Close Personal Friends,” starring Brie Larson, Lily Collins, Jack Quaid and Henry Golding. The potential role in “The Gentlemen,” however, would mark a more significant return to scripted acting after leaving “Suits.”

WATCH: MEGHAN MARKLE COULD REVIVE CAREER WITH SHOCKING ACTING RETURN: EXPERT

“The Gentlemen” follows Eddie Horniman (Theo James), who unexpectedly inherits his father’s title as Duke of Halstead and the family’s sprawling estate after his father dies — only to discover that Halstead Manor sits atop a massive cannabis operation and that his reckless older brother has been passed over.

Doug Eldridge, founder of Achilles PR, told Fox News Digital that Meghan’s potential Hollywood comeback could expose the challenge that has followed her for years: finding an identity once the camera stops rolling that sticks.

“This has been the lingering problem for Meghan all these years: what is her identity?” he said. “She’s ridden a carousel of career horses. Yet for all the rotations, nothing has seemingly stuck.”

In a statement shared with The New York Times, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said, “On the heels of a wonderful trip with family and friends this summer, Harry and Meghan have decided to spend an extended period in the U.K. this autumn. They are excited to have their children spend more time in the country that’s such an important part of their family’s story.”

The spokesperson confirmed that the couple’s business operations will remain based in the U.S. Meghan and Harry will also keep their California home. People magazine reported that Meghan’s potential acting project contributed to the couple’s decision to return to Britain.

Schofield isn’t convinced that filmmakers will now embrace Meghan with open arms.

GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE

“I’m still skeptical that this represents some grand Hollywood comeback,” she said.

“Meghan has spent six years in [California] with a multimillion-dollar Netflix relationship, enormous name recognition and Tyler Perry on speed dial. If acting was genuinely her ambition, she was already standing in arguably the best place in the world to pursue it.”

“That said, ‘The Gentlemen’ would be a clever choice,” she noted. “It’s an established hit with a strong creative pedigree, so she wouldn’t have to carry the project herself. But first, she has to prove she can disappear into a character rather than have every scene become about Meghan Markle.”

In 2022, when asked by Variety whether she would ever return to acting, Meghan replied: “I’m done.”

“I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not,” she said at the time.

Since stepping back from royal duties in 2020, Meghan has launched a series of ventures with mixed results. 

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Her high-profile Spotify partnership ended in 2023 after her podcast, “Archetypes,” produced one season. Her planned Netflix animated series “Pearl” was scrapped before reaching production.

Her lifestyle brand, originally launched as American Riviera Orchard, endured a prolonged rollout before being relaunched to As Ever in 2025. In March 2026, a Sussex spokesperson confirmed that her Netflix lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan,” would continue as seasonal specials rather than return for a third season.

Dan Wakeford, founder of Celebrity Intelligence, told Fox News Digital that after years of reinvention, Meghan may have little to lose by returning to the career that first put her in the spotlight.

“The honest picture is more complicated than any of the tabloid headlines and narratives about the empire,” he explained. “‘With Love, Meghan’ became a punchline when it needed to be a launchpad. And when the show was mocked, it poisoned the well for As Ever as well, because the credibility was gone. The problem is that she and Harry believed the big Netflix deals and Spotify checks meant they had leverage when, actually, the checks were the leverage.”

“The most interesting path forward for Meghan, and several sources raised this unprompted to Celebrity Intelligence, is a return to acting would actually be a wise move,” he continued. “Find an extraordinary script the way Demi Moore did with ‘The Substance’ and do something that shocks people. Get away from this princess arc and go back to what you loved and what made you famous in the first place.”

Meghan, daughter of Emmy-winning lighting director Thomas Markle, got her start in Hollywood with bit parts on shows like “Fringe” and “The League.” She was also a suitcase model on “Deal or No Deal” before becoming a series regular as Rachel Zane in the legal drama “Suits.” She filmed her final scenes in 2017 following her engagement, and her final episode aired in April 2018.

PUT YOUR ENTERTAINMENT KNOWLEDGE TO THE TEST AND SEE HOW YOU SCORE

“Of all the professional reinventions Meghan has attempted, acting makes the most sense,” said Schofield. “She has legitimate experience doing it. She spent years working consistently on ‘Suits.’ There’s nothing embarrassing about returning to the profession that originally made her successful.”

“What I find amusing is the contradiction,” she said. “Meghan spent years presenting herself as though acting was something she had evolved beyond. Perhaps the great reinvention is discovering that the original brand worked better than all the rebrands.”

Stepping back in front of the camera could work in Meghan’s favor. Recent polls have placed both Harry and Meghan near the bottom of the royal family’s popularity rankings in Britain, ahead of only former Prince Andrew, People magazine reported.

But if there’s one thing Meghan has consistently proven, it’s her ability to command attention — the enduring power of the so-called “Markle Sparkle.”

“Meghan brings something you cannot manufacture with a marketing budget, and that’s global curiosity,” said Schofield. “Love her or loathe her, people will watch the first episode just to see whether she can still act. Every photograph from the set becomes international news. Every trailer gets dissected. Every interview generates headlines.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“From a publicity standpoint, I completely understand why a producer might take that gamble,” she said. “The question is whether the spectacle surrounding Meghan ultimately serves the story or overwhelms it. But there’s an enormous difference between attracting attention and building a sustainable career. The real test is whether anybody wants to see Meghan’s character again once the novelty wears off.”