Guy Ritchie and the Cast of ‘The Gentlemen’ Tease a Darker, More Dangerous Season 2
In the world of The Gentlemen, good manners are merely a distraction from bad intentions, a perfectly tailored suit can conceal a ruthless criminal, and the difference between aristocracy and organized crime is often little more than the size of the family estate. Guy Ritchie’s deliciously twisted universe of privilege, power, and criminal ambition returns for a second season, and this time the stakes are higher, the loyalties are shakier, and the bodies may not be the only things piling up as everyone scrambles for a bigger piece of the empire.
Following the success of its first season, Netflix’s The Gentlemen is expanding beyond the British countryside and into the lavish, politically complicated world of Italian aristocracy and organized crime. Theo James returns as Eddie, the reluctant aristocrat who discovered that inheriting a family estate came with a rather unconventional business arrangement, while Kaya Scodelario reprises her role as Susie Glass, the sharp-witted criminal operator who helped introduce him to a world where power is negotiated through equal parts charm, intimidation, and calculated violence.
But if the first season was about Eddie learning to survive among criminals, the second appears determined to explore what happens when he starts enjoying the lifestyle a little too much. As his ambitions grow and his moral compass becomes increasingly unreliable, Eddie is no longer content to simply navigate the criminal underworld. He wants to help control it, even if that means challenging the very people who brought him into the business.
During a recent global press conference, creator, director, writer, and executive producer Guy Ritchie joined writer and executive producer Matthew Read, alongside James and Scodelario, to discuss the creative ambitions behind the second season. From Eddie’s increasingly dangerous transformation and Susie’s complicated family loyalties to the show’s Italian expansion and its signature combination of outrageous humor and stylish violence, the conversation offered a revealing look at how The Gentlemen intends to raise the stakes without losing the irreverent personality that made it such an entertaining hit.
[Warning: spoilers from The Gentlemen season 2 are below!]
A dangerous climb to the top
For Guy Ritchie, the central question driving the second season is deceptively simple: how does someone become more powerful without ultimately destroying themselves? The filmmaker explained that the story is fundamentally interested in ambition, ego, and the potentially devastating consequences of pursuing success without recognizing the personal cost. Eddie’s rise through the criminal hierarchy presents an opportunity to examine how power can transform someone who initially entered the business for reasons that seemed almost honorable.
Matthew Read expands on that idea, explaining that Eddie’s increasing influence raises questions about whether he can achieve everything he wants without sacrificing his morality. As he pursues greater control, the consequences extend beyond his personal ambitions, threatening to complicate his relationships with Susie and Bobby Glass.
That transformation represents a significant departure from the Eddie audiences met in the first season. Theo James described his character’s original motivations as being rooted in survival and a desire to protect his family from financial ruin. Despite the morally questionable circumstances surrounding him, Eddie initially attempted to approach his problems with a relatively conventional sense of right and wrong.
Season 2, however, finds him becoming increasingly comfortable with the darker possibilities of his new position. Rather than simply reacting to dangerous situations, Eddie begins to see how violence, manipulation, and strategic cruelty can advance his interests. Theo James explained that the character’s evolution involves a gradual erosion of empathy, suggesting Eddie could become far more dangerous than the man who first stumbled into the criminal enterprise.
The actor was careful not to suggest that Eddie has completely abandoned his humanity, but he acknowledged that the character is moving into morally troubling territory. James found the possibility of becoming charming, intelligent, and deeply dangerous at the same time particularly fascinating to explore. For viewers, that means the second season isn’t simply offering more criminal adventures. It is examining whether the man at the center of those adventures is becoming the very kind of person he once might have feared.
Eddie and Susie: partners, rivals, or something more?
Few relationships in The Gentlemen are as entertainingly unpredictable as the partnership between Eddie and Susie. Their dynamic has always depended on an uneasy balance of attraction, mutual respect, suspicion, and the understanding that either could become a serious problem for the other if circumstances changed. According to Kaya Scodelario, that tension becomes even more pronounced in Season 2.
The actress revealed that the story resumes approximately a year after the events of the first season, with Eddie and Susie having successfully expanded their operation into Italy. Although their business partnership has become increasingly profitable, their individual ambitions are creating new complications. She explained that Susie remains primarily focused on strengthening her position within the family empire. While she cares about Eddie and recognizes the effectiveness of their partnership, she also knows his growing independence could eventually threaten everything she has worked to establish.
The actress also explored the possibility that Susie feels some responsibility for Eddie’s transformation. Having helped introduce him to the criminal world, she must now confront the possibility that she has encouraged ambitions and behaviors she can no longer fully control.
That creates an especially intriguing emotional conflict. Susie is accustomed to understanding the motivations of the people around her and controlling situations that might otherwise become unpredictable. Eddie, however, is becoming increasingly difficult to anticipate. Theo James suggested the partnership could eventually become a direct struggle for power, comparing their relationship to the destructive ambitions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Both characters understand that climbing to the top often requires someone else to lose, and neither seems particularly eager to be the one left behind. Guy Ritchie offered perhaps the most concise assessment of their situation, observing that Eddie and Susie are simultaneously each other’s greatest advantage and greatest threat.
Yet the tension between them isn’t exclusively professional. The actress acknowledged that the characters share a complicated affection, while Matthew Read explained that the writers deliberately introduced circumstances designed to challenge their emotional connection. The possibility of romantic interests outside their partnership, conflicting loyalties, and ambitions that might undermine Bobby Glass all became opportunities to explore the relationship more deeply.
Despite those complications, the actors emphasized that the series still finds considerable humor in Eddie and Susie’s interactions. Their verbal sparring remains an essential ingredient in the show’s personality, and Scodelario credited her comfortable working relationship with James for helping those moments feel increasingly natural. Whether their connection ultimately develops into romance, rivalry, or outright betrayal remains an open question. What is certain is that their relationship will remain one of the most entertainingly unstable elements of the series.
Trading the British countryside for the Italian lakes
One of the most significant changes in The Gentlemen Season 2 is the expansion of the show’s criminal world beyond Britain. With Eddie and Susie’s operation reaching Italy, the series introduces a new environment shaped by centuries of aristocratic tradition, inherited wealth, organized crime, and elaborate social hierarchies. For Guy Ritchie, the decision to explore Italy emerged naturally from the show’s central themes. The filmmaker explained that Italian aristocracy offers an intriguing parallel to the British class system, particularly when examining families whose prestigious histories do not necessarily guarantee financial security.
The country’s association with organized crime also offered an opportunity to introduce new power structures and criminal relationships without abandoning the series’ established identity. Rather than treating Italy as a mere backdrop, the creative team wanted its cultural history and social traditions to shape the characters and their decisions. Matthew Read explained that the production benefited from connections established through Moonage Pictures’ work on Netflix’s The Leopard, which had already immersed members of the creative team in the world of Italian aristocracy. That familiarity helped shape the second season and provided valuable connections during filming.
The writers also drew inspiration from Italian cinema and art, including filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino. Read specifically referenced The Great Beauty as an influence on a party sequence in the sixth episode, while the production incorporated an aria from a Bellini opera that Read attended in Milan. Guy Ritchie acknowledged that the beauty of the Italian lakes also shaped the decision. With their extraordinary landscapes, historic villas, and unmistakable atmosphere of wealth and privilege, the locations provided an ideal setting for a story concerned with the relationship between power and appearances.
For Kaya Scodelario, filming in Italy was especially enjoyable. The actress described the production as resembling an elaborate school trip, with cast members able to bring their families and enjoy the surroundings when they weren’t working. She also joked about the production bringing approximately 250 British crew members along, creating a rather conspicuous British presence in the Italian countryside. Beyond personal enjoyment, the international setting meaningfully expands the series’ visual identity. The contrast between British country estates and Italian villas creates new opportunities for the show’s distinctive combination of elegance, extravagance, and criminal absurdity.
Inheritance, identity, and the curse of privilege in The Gentlemen season 2
Although The Gentlemen is filled with criminal conspiracies, eccentric personalities, and extravagant displays of wealth, Ritchie believes its deeper themes rest on questions of identity and inheritance. The filmmaker explained that one of the series’ central ideas concerns the difference between a position someone inherits and an identity they create through their own actions. Eddie may appear extraordinarily privileged because of his aristocratic background, but Ritchie views that privilege as something that can also become restrictive. Inheriting wealth, responsibility, and social expectations does not necessarily provide an individual with a sense of personal accomplishment or independence.
That tension helps explain Eddie’s increasingly aggressive pursuit of power. His criminal activities offer an opportunity to establish something that belongs to him because he created it rather than because it was handed down through generations. Guy Ritchie described the second season as an extension of that struggle, with Eddie trying to establish his own authority while confronting the dangers that come with his growing influence.
Interestingly, Susie faces a similar conflict. Kaya Scodelario explained that her character has enormous respect for her father and the criminal organization he has built. Family loyalty remains fundamental to her identity, and she understands the importance of protecting the empire that has defined much of her life. However, Susie is no longer content to simply operate under her father’s authority. After years of managing the daily realities of the business, she increasingly recognizes her ability to lead.
The actress suggested that Season 2 explores whether Susie is finally ready to step out of her father’s shadow and claim greater independence. Guy Ritchie observed that this parallel between Eddie and Susie is part of what makes their relationship so compelling. Despite coming from very different backgrounds, both characters are attempting to distinguish their own achievements from the legacies they inherited. That shared experience creates understanding between them, even as their competing ambitions threaten to pull them apart. The result is a story in which criminal power struggles become a vehicle for exploring something more universal: the desire to define oneself independently of family expectations.
Finding the perfect balance between reality and absurdity in this Netflix series
One defining characteristic of Guy Ritchie’s storytelling has always been his ability to combine outrageous criminal scenarios with characters who behave as though the most ridiculous circumstances are simply another inconvenience to manage. That balance remains central to the creative approach behind The Gentlemen.
When asked about developing the show’s elaborate betrayals and unexpected twists, Ritchie explained that he and Matthew Read spend considerable time establishing their characters’ personalities and motivations before letting the plot evolve naturally. Rather than constructing twists solely for shock value, the writers look for situations that emerge logically from the decisions their characters would make. The challenge is ensuring those situations remain surprising and entertaining without becoming so implausible that audiences stop believing in the world.
Ritchie acknowledged that some seemingly clever ideas lose their appeal when examined more closely, requiring the writers to reconsider their approach until they find something sufficiently provocative. The filmmaker also revealed that real-world events occasionally inspire the series’ more unusual criminal scenarios. He and Read regularly exchange stories about improbable discoveries and situations involving illicit operations, finding that reality can sometimes be nearly as bizarre as the fictional world they are creating.
That relationship between reality and absurdity is particularly important to a series in which wealthy aristocrats and organized criminals frequently operate according to similarly elaborate social codes. Theo James drew an interesting comparison between British aristocracy and the Italian Mafia, observing that both environments are governed by deeply established rules, rituals, and expectations. Even when the people involved behave immorally, they often operate according to their own complicated understanding of loyalty, honor, and acceptable conduct. That contradiction is precisely what makes The Gentlemen such fertile ground for Ritchie’s particular brand of dark comedy.
A richer, darker, and more ambitious second season
Following the enthusiastic response to the first season, Ritchie and Read faced the familiar challenge of continuing a successful story without simply repeating what audiences had already enjoyed. Ritchie acknowledged that the original season’s popularity created new expectations. The creative team wanted to preserve the atmosphere and character dynamics that made the series successful while introducing enough fresh material to justify its continuation.
Read summarized the challenge as making everything richer, expanding the storytelling in multiple directions rather than relying exclusively on bigger action sequences or increasingly elaborate criminal schemes. James agreed that the first season could have functioned as a complete story, making it especially important that a continuation offer meaningful character development. For the actor, returning to Eddie only made sense if the second season allowed the series to explore more complex themes, deepen its relationships, and expand the world in ways that felt creatively worthwhile. That philosophy extended to the production process itself.
James described Ritchie’s filmmaking approach as unusually collaborative, with actors given opportunities to adjust dialogue, reconsider scenes, and experiment with different approaches during filming. Although the overall narrative structure remains established, the performers are encouraged to remain flexible and respond to discoveries that emerge on set. That approach can be challenging because it requires actors to remain prepared for changes, but James believes it also creates a stronger sense of collective ownership over the finished work.
Scodelario similarly praised the collaborative atmosphere, explaining that returning to the series let her and James build on the familiarity they had developed during the first season. With a clearer understanding of their characters and each other’s acting styles, the pair found it easier to establish the rhythm of their interactions, whether those moments involved tension, humor, or the unspoken understanding that often exists between Eddie and Susie. The actress suggested this familiarity made the second season more comfortable and rewarding, even as the characters became increasingly complicated.
Style, spectacle, and a very unusual tiger in The Gentlemen
Of course, no discussion of The Gentlemen would be complete without acknowledging the series’ visual extravagance and willingness to embrace the absurd. During the press conference, the conversation turned to a tiger sequence featured in the second season, prompting considerable laughter among the cast and creative team.
Scodelario quickly clarified that the production had not actually worked with a live tiger, while James joked about how modern filmmaking techniques can create convincing animal encounters without requiring performers to share the set with a dangerous predator. Read attributed the idea to the writers’ room, reinforcing the sense that the series remains willing to indulge its more outrageous creative impulses.
The discussion also touched on an art auction sequence, which James highlighted as an opportunity to explore Eddie and Susie’s relationship through humor and character development. When asked which artwork they would personally choose to own, Scodelario expressed her admiration for Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra, explaining that she would prefer one of his enormous, colorful murals painted directly onto her home. James, meanwhile, struggled to settle on a favorite before eventually mentioning artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, much to his fellow panelists’ amusement.
The conversation offered an entertaining glimpse of the chemistry between the actors, whose playful exchanges often mirrored the teasing dynamic of their onscreen characters. Yet the show’s visual style is not entirely spontaneous. Ritchie explained that the production maintains a deliberate aesthetic identity, including discussions about color palettes and lighting inspired by classical paintings. The filmmaker specifically referenced Caravaggio, whose dramatic contrasts between light and shadow inspired elements of the show’s visual presentation.
That combination of classical artistic influence and outrageous contemporary criminality is particularly appropriate for a series that constantly juxtaposes refinement with brutality. Whether depicting a lavish estate, an elaborate art auction, or a potentially dangerous encounter with an exotic animal, The Gentlemen remains committed to making its criminal world as visually entertaining as it is narratively unpredictable.
Susie Glass refuses to be underestimated
While much of the second season focuses on Eddie’s increasingly aggressive ambitions, Scodelario emphasized that Susie remains a formidable force in her own right. The actress pushed back against the suggestion that Susie’s story should primarily be viewed through the lens of a woman attempting to succeed in a male-dominated criminal environment. For Scodelario, one of the character’s greatest strengths is that the series does not constantly feel the need to explain or justify her authority.
Susie is capable, intelligent, and entirely comfortable operating among powerful men. Her competence is simply an established part of the world rather than something the narrative repeatedly needs to emphasize. That confidence extends to her experiences in Italy, where she encounters new criminal organizations and aristocratic power structures. Scodelario explained that Susie approaches these relationships with the same strategic awareness she demonstrates in Britain, recognizing the importance of understanding the people who hold influence and the opportunities those connections might provide.
The actress also discussed Susie’s interactions with Bella, noting that their relationship isn’t defined by automatic competition or hostility. Instead, Susie recognizes Bella’s position and the potential advantages of establishing a productive connection. That perspective reinforces Susie’s ability to distinguish personal feelings from professional necessity, even when Eddie’s decisions threaten to complicate her carefully constructed plans.
However, Scodelario suggested that Susie’s greatest challenge may involve learning when to loosen her grip on control. After spending so much of her life calculating risks and protecting the family business, she may be approaching a point where she wants to pursue opportunities on her own terms rather than simply manage others’ ambitions. That evolution could make her more powerful than ever, but it could also place her directly in Eddie’s path.
A criminal empire with everything to lose
As The Gentlemen prepares to return, its second season seems determined to explore what happens after the initial thrill of entering a dangerous world fades and the pursuit of power becomes far more personal. Eddie is no longer simply an aristocrat attempting to rescue his family’s fortunes. He is becoming a man increasingly fascinated by his ability to manipulate the criminal system, even as that fascination threatens to erode the qualities that once distinguished him from those around him.
Susie, meanwhile, confronts her own desire for independence, trying to reconcile loyalty to her family’s empire with the growing realization that she may be ready to control her own destiny. Their partnership remains effective, their chemistry remains undeniable, and their shared ambitions continue to create extraordinary opportunities. But the very qualities that make them successful together could ultimately drive them apart.
By expanding the action into Italy, introducing new criminal hierarchies, and exploring the complicated relationship between inherited privilege and self-made power, Ritchie and his collaborators are attempting to build something more ambitious than a conventional follow-up. The result promises the familiar ingredients audiences have come to expect: sharply dressed criminals, elaborate betrayals, eccentric personalities, lavish settings, and enough dry British humor to make even the most dangerous situations strangely entertaining.
But beneath the designer clothing, extravagant estates, and increasingly outrageous criminal schemes lies a darker question about ambition and identity. How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to become the person you believe you were meant to be? For Eddie and Susie, that question may prove considerably more dangerous than any rival criminal organization. After all, in Guy Ritchie’s world, getting to the top is rarely the hardest part. The real challenge is surviving what happens once you arrive.
The Gentlemen season 2 is streaming on Netflix! Have you watched the season? What did you think about the second outing? Share your thoughts on social media and tag @bsb.insider to keep the conversation going!
Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe, and Genden Phuntsok Take Filmmaking to New Heights in Tenzing
