Amazon Now Has Creative Control Of James Bond — And That’s Concerning
The spy thriller series is no longer a family business.
James Bond feels like one of the last great film franchises. The eponymous hero may have appeared in different guises and faced all manner of strange villains, but at the core he’s still the same agent on Her Majesty’s Secret Service that appeared on the silver screen back in 1962.
However, that just changed forever with a behind-the-scenes deal that may shift the vision of the Bond franchise entirely — and not necessarily for the better. It may be unprecedented for Bond, but it places the series directly in line with its competitors.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon recently announced it would be taking creative control of the James Bond franchise from the Broccoli family. Albert “Cubby” Broccoli purchased the film rights for Ian Fleming’s James Bond movies along with producer Harry Saltzman, and throughout his career, had overseen the development of the film series until 1995, when he handed control to his daughter Barbara Broccoli and his stepson Michael G. Wilson.
Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have overseen the James Bond franchise ever since Cubby Broccoli’s retirement.
Since Amazon purchased Bond distribution company MGM, the company has had a hand in developing new movies, but there hasn’t been much progress in developing a new movie — or even in recasting an actor to replace Daniel Craig as Bond. The Broccoli family have always been fierce custodians of the Bond intellectual property, and that apparently butted up against Amazon’s approach. Reports claimed the two parties were in a “stalemate” and that the relationship had “collapsed.”
However, the statement from Barbara Broccoli made the handover sound amicable. “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,” she said in a statement. “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.”
Possible issues behind the scenes may explain why Daniel Craig’s replacement for Bond has yet to be announced.
But what does this mean for the future of Bond movies? Much like Disney purchasing Lucasfilm and Marvel, it probably means the fast-tracking of more content without having to mediate with an IP guardian. But more content doesn’t necessarily mean better content, as the constant claims of “quality over quantity” from franchise executives prove.
Is this the start of a “Bondverse,” with Amazon taking advantage of the creative freedom to launch a number of projects? Could it maybe be the start of a new golden age for the series? Entrusting one of the longest-running film franchises to the same company that gave us two-day shipping and Beast Games may be risky, but when it comes to James Bond, you only live twice.
