Robert Carlyle, Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom join ‘The Gentlemen’ season 3

Robert Carlyle, Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom are among the new cast members joining The Gentlemen as production begins on the Netflix crime drama’s third season in the UK and Morocco.

The trio will appear alongside Dexter Fletcher, Bruna Marquezine, Ed Speleers, Saffron Burrows and Bugzy Malone, according to Variety. The new additions mark their first collaboration with series creator Guy Ritchie, while Wood and Bloom reunite after starring together in The Lord of the Rings films.

The returning series follows Eddie Horniman, played by Theo James, and Susie Glass, portrayed by Kaya Scodelario, as they build a criminal enterprise after Eddie inherits Halstead Manor.

Ray Winstone will return as crime boss Bobby Glass, alongside Joely Richardson as Lady Sabrina, Vinnie Jones as Geoff, Jasmine Blackborow as Charly, Harry Goodwins as Jack, Benjamin Clementine and Maya Jama.

Daniel Ings, who played Eddie’s older brother Freddy in the first two seasons, was not included in the announced returning cast. Giancarlo Esposito, who appeared as American billionaire Stanley Johnston, was also absent from the list. Their involvement in the new season has not been confirmed by the announcement.

According to the season three synopsis, Eddie and Susie pursue their most ambitious venture yet by planning to build a casino in the Middle East. Their plans face mounting danger, raising questions about whether Eddie’s ambition could threaten their operation.

The third season will consist of eight episodes, each running approximately 60 minutes. Ritchie created the series and is writing the new instalment with Matthew Read. Ritchie and Evan Creevy are directing.

Produced by Moonage Pictures for Netflix and Miramax TV, the series follows its second season, which launched in September. Netflix renewed The Gentlemen for a third season in August, with Ritchie saying the story’s growing ambition and expanding world made another instalment feel inevitable.

The newly announced cast adds several established performers to a series centred on power, family ties and the risks of expanding a criminal empire.