Amazon now has full creative control of James Bond 007

https://deadline.com/2025/02/james-bond-amazon-mgm-studios-takes-control-1236295821/

James Bond Shocker! Amazon MGM Studios Takes Creative Control Of Spy Franchise As Producers Michael G. Wilson & Barbara Broccoli Step Back

In news that will send shock waves through the industry, longtime James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are relinquishing control of the beloved spy franchise and handing the reins to Amazon MGM Studios.

As part of the arrangement revealed Thursday, Amazon and the producers have formed a new joint venture to house the Bond intellectual property rights, with Broccoli and Wilson remaining co-owners of the franchise.

Under terms of the new venture, Amazon MGM Studios will gain creative control of 007. Financial details were not disclosed, but there is already industry speculation that Broccoli and Wilson will have received a healthy payday from Amazon and will continue to have some shared economics going forward.

Since the most recent series starring Daniel Craig came to a close with the 2021 pic No Time to Die, 007 has appeared to be in no-man’s land. Despite wild speculation about who will replace Craig, there have been no substantive updates about the future of the franchise.

In this information vacuum, there have been multiple deeply reported press stories about tensions between Amazon and the Bond producers following the streamer’s $8.5 billion takeover of MGM in 2022. The Wall Street Journal reported in December that the relationship had “all but collapsed” and Broccoli had characterized Amazon to friends as “f****** idiots.”

Now, some of that ire had to do with Broccoli’s resistance to making James Bond open to an expanded universe concept that was embraced with Star Wars, Spider-Man and the Marvel superhero universe. Spinoffs on other characters did not please her, and they would be a priority to a volume-driven company like Amazon. To Broccoli, 007 is a gem that consists of a movie at a time, carefully crafted, and never out of her controlling hands. The five-picture arc accomplished with Craig with filmmakers like Sam Mendes was a remarkable achievement. But clearly, something had to give because it has just taken too long to get on track with a new chapter for 007, with a new star-in-the-making to play him. And with great filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino and Edward Berger all 007 acolytes who’ve expressed interest in taking the baton, today’s development might make it possible to enlist a filmmaker like Tarantino or Nolan, who insist on control of their projects. That was never going to happen under Broccoli and Wilson, protecting the asset their father built into Hollywood’s most enduring blockbuster franchise.

First thing is, who at Amazon will run and oversee this? Internally, Amazon’s top film executive, Courtenay Valenti, is a seasoned pro who oversaw all kinds of big films at Warner Bros. Also under that umbrella is Scott Stuber, who after building the Netflix film output was brought in to revive United Artists. He might be a smart choice because he’s just getting underway, and 007 has a long history with the UA banner. Both of them have impeccable creative relationships and reputations. So there are capable adults on the premises who can guide the next iteration of the franchise. It is clear that money had to be a big part of today’s development, but Wilson and Broccoli have plenty of that and the importance of the switch is the caretaking of his franchise jewel. Speculation is also that with Wilson peeling off to focus on other things, Broccoli might have decided that the series on which she was so hands on, the one with Craig, was a great way to go out, and that a back seat is preferable at this point.

The tone in today’s press release was not so caustic, with Wilson describing Amazon as a “trusted partner.” Following the deal, insiders said no decisions have been made on future Bond films, including who will star, direct, and write the next feature. It means another installment is likely years away.

“Since his theatrical introduction over 60 years ago, James Bond has been one of the most iconic characters in filmed entertainment,” said Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.

“We are grateful to the late Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman for bringing James Bond to movie theatres around the world, and to Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for their unyielding dedication and their role in continuing the legacy of the franchise that is cherished by legions of fans worldwide. We are honoured to continue this treasured heritage, and look forward to ushering in the next phase of the legendary 007 for audiences around the world.”

“With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects. Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future,” said Wilson.

This news is significant in the history of the iconic MI6 agent as for decades producers have gained significant leverage when it came to decisions regarding the franchise.

Broccoli said: “My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli. I have had the honour of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry. With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.”

In 2022, Amazon acquired MGM, including a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows. Since the acquisition, Amazon has held the rights to distribute all of the James Bond films.

Get ready for spinoff shows and movies. Giving his daughter the franchise is the worst thing Broccoli ever did. With her selling it to Amazon, of all companies, his failure is complete.

Bring on the Bond Cinematic Universe 😁🤣😋😂

Um.... Expanded with what?

The next James Bond will look like Jeff Bezos, so we can worship him like a king

@mattbbpl: Not my post, but probably 80 percent accurate.

Coming soon to Amazon Prime Video:

Quartermaster: First Gadget

M: Behind the Desk

Oddjob: Peculiar Tasks

Jaws & Nibbles

Wint (He meets Mr. Kidd in the S1 finale)

Ernst

Agents of SPECTRE

006

Hhhhhhhhh. It won’t being the magic of Goldeneye 007 back. That’s for sure.

This would be funnier if it wasn't so easy to believe it might become true.

The worry here is that it will be a case of Starwars or Star Trek where they inherently have no concept of the product and try to maximize investment by created a never-ending factory line of throwing shit at the wall.

I was not a fan of the Craig era, part of the appeal of the brand though is each iteration from each time frame becomes a different flavor.

As Craigs was so dreary, depressing, melodrama, the logical bounce from that would be to shift back to something lighter, fantastical, closer to Moore era or at the very least dial it down.

Not expecting good, but we'll see see I guess.

IMO a good product based on a franchise needs enthusiasts and not just hired developers, writers, etc.., The glory days of 60's, 70's and 80's Bond will never return and hasn't returned since.

After Remington Steele finished his time as lead, I never went forward with the franchise because the stories were not appealing nor was the actor chosen as the lead. Was he playing James Bond or Doc Martin? Even Lazenby gave off more of James Bond in his brief time.

Games? That's a black hole.

I know art has been in conflict with corporations for years, but given that James Bond DEALT with people like Bezos in more ways than one.

Yeah, my reaction comes from the movie involving the paper he ruined:

@warm_gun said:

Get ready for spinoff shows and movies. Giving his daughter the franchise is the worst thing Broccoli ever did. With her selling it to Amazon, of all companies, his failure is complete.

Um, Amazon installed anti-DEI policies.

I'd say Skyfall is very good, but a lot of people would probably disagree with me on that.

It's interesting in the sense it's meta, where Bond is old tired out and outpaced by the modern age, with the major theme being technology and tech bros where M becomes a central character that has faith in him despite his deficiencies.

Has most, if not all the Bond tropes I like that the other Craig movies lack.

Bet they ruin the franchise.

@warm_gun: That's disgusting.

@uninspiredcup: Remember finding Skyfall very boring and having to watch it over two nights. Remember being bothered by The Dark Knight tone, the part where M talks to the committee about the use of field agents in this modern era. Remember thinking that the last act didn't even feel like Bond anymore. More like Home Alone. Remember thinking that the pointing out of how old-fashioned Bond is to bring it back to this idea of field agents in a digital surveillance state made it only more obvious that he's a fish out of water, water being the 1950s and early '60s, where he belongs. Pathetic.

Also agree with this guy about Skyfall and Barbara Broccoli.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22847189&postcount=1973

"It's not really a Bond movie - it's an action movie with a character called James Bond.

"Roger Deakins gave an interview recently in which he said that when Mendes called him up wanting him to be the DOP he said to him, 'I'm making a thriller but not a Bond film', or words to that effect.

"I think he found the whole idea of making a James Bond movie somehow beneath him; look at it, it's full of West End luvvies acting their little cotton socks off, it has an extensive quote from Wordsworth [ overlaid by majestic orchestration from Thomas Newman], the condescending line from Whishaw to the effect of, 'We don't go in for exploding pens anymore', the deliberate veering away from the formula, the hint of homosexuality in Bond's character - the entire film has a sniffy, art-house feel to it, it's an insult to the previous films, to the character of Bond, and to Fleming. I also consider it quite drab, visually. Depressed and depressing. The tropes are all either left out completely or sniffily and reluctantly acknowledged by him [ Mendes]. And that awful ending in the lodge which teeters on the edge of parody, as someone else said, like Home Alone.

"It de-mystifies Bond, making him dreary and pedestrian, taking away the glamour, mystery and fantasy, the escapism. At the same time he [Mendes] tries to elevate the film to operatic, Shakesperian levels, just like Nolan tried to do with his Dark Knight trilogy: this tat is not worthy of my attenton but I'm being paid a million bucks, so I'd better try and elevate it.

"The beautiful, nuanced complexity of Craig's characterisation in CASINO ROYALE is hastily jettisoned here; Mendes seems to delight in making the secret agent normal - stripped of his enigmatic character [the cipher that Sean so beautifully conveyed between 1962 and 1967].

"James Bond is a glamorous screen anti-hero; Craig is a weird-looking guy, not at all conventionally handsome in the traditional matinee idol sense [Unlike ALL his predecessors]. This worked in CASINO ROYALE [ it was part of the 'shock-of-the-new' element of his performance]. Here, in this film, he is made to look ugly [unshaven, down-at-heel, depressed, ageing] - Bond should never be ugly and ageing, that misses a fundamental point of the screen character, and the legend.

"Ironically, looking at its follow-up [the absurd SPECTRE], Mendes seems to be frantically back-pedalling with this movie, making Bond instead light-hearted,smug and almost jocular with the weird, self-referential 'James Bond's Greatest Hits' tone and content of the film{countless references to the previous films, and self-conscious in-jokes} - almost as if he's apologising for his patronising insult SKYFALL.

"SKYFALL does what NO TIME TO DIE ended up doing to an extreme: deconstructing the tried-and-tested formula to such an extent that it becomes unrecognisable as a Bond movie - it metastisises, becoming something else entirely - an action movie just happening to feature a character called James Bond.

"Barbara Broccoli's father once told her, 'Don't let them screw it up'. This movie shows that Broccoli doesn't fully understand the property she is the guardian of: her father understood what he had, as did Terence Young and Guy Hamilton, Ken Adam and Peter Hunt, John Barry and Harry Saltzman. She doesn't; she has failed."

Not sure I'd say it's Dark Knight tone.

The capture of the main character is inspired, and basically ripped off from it, fore sure.

But beyond that didn't get much in the way of Dark Knight vibes. It felt like

Timothy Dalton era modernized, specifically License To Kill which itself is a personal story regarding a side character Felix, much like Skyfall.

The last act makes sense with the theme of the movie . The villain is modern, tech, Bond is an old-style spy, and by that point in the movie their is much collateral damage.

So were do they go? Scotland. Back to the past, the origin of the character, secluded and open.

Though I do feel the manor sequence goes on way longer than it should.

Though it has two sequences I like.

1. This is absolutely stupid, but it's crowd pleaser in the cinema, and something that works better with an audience.

2. And this entire ice sequence which is great, makes no logical sense as he'd freeze to death, but it's James Bond, not reality.

Only villain I like of the Craig era as well, all the others are shit and it has the second worst Blofeld (worst being Diamonds Are Forever). Globe trotting, beautiful woman, good action scenes, good plot, killer soundtrack, gadgets, ref to older movies without being MCU dumb shit, Craig being miserable actually makes sense for once.

Ticks most of the boxes for me. Use to think was my fav one, but nah, The Spy Who Loved Me is the best Bond movie.