James Whitehead
Since the first James Bond film, over 60 years ago, we’ve had twenty-seven films and seven different actors who have played the iconic, British spy. The one consistent over that time has been the Broccoli family, who have owned the main rights to the character since the 60’s. Regardless of the studio or company involved making the film, they’ve had to answer to, and appease, the Broccoli family; who have always been very cautious with who they allow to play within their world.
Whilst this has led to the character remaining both iconic and prestigious in the world of cinema… Of late, it has led to a real halt in any production of a new James Bond film.
Amazon acquired MGM studios for $8.5 billion, back in 2021. Most of that value was down to them owning the rights to Bond. But since then, the studio has announced no new films, no new directors or even any attempts at casting for the legendary role. Any attempt to get production moving from Amazon seemed to hit a dead end at every turn. And for a while there have been stories rumbling around the industry, that this was partially due to them failing to get on the same page with the Broccoli family. Understandably this has caused a lot of frustration within the walls of Amazon.
Over recent weeks, these rumors have been all but confirmed, when it was being widely reported that Amazon were looking to pay off the Broccoli family for the full creative rights to Bond.
This idea was floated around at the time of the original purchase of MGM, but anyone close to the Broccoli’s knew that they had zero intention of giving up the creative power to Bond away. After all, this family have been the custodians of Bond for over 60 years through different generations, so it was apparent to everyone that it would take something utterly ridiculous to loosen their grip.
Speaking of ridiculous… Enter, Jeff Bezos.
Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, is not thought of being the most patient man, and recently, his patience with the Broccoli family had all but run out. After furiously reading comments from Barbara Broccoli calling amazon executives “F***ing Idiots”, according to Screenrant, an insider stated that Bezos responded to her comments by picking up the phone and saying, “I don’t care what it costs, get rid of her.”
Whilst this does sound like something more akin to a Bond villain… The actual result of this order from Bezos was for Amazon to pay off the Broccoli family once and for all, to obtain full creative control of the James Bond franchise. This news shocked the film world after such a long period of one family’s ownership. It’s reported that Amazon paid close to an additional $1 billion dollars to the family, on top of the original $8.5 billion paid to own MGM. This bold move to secure control by Bezos makes it clear how big the company’s intentions are with Bond. But that doesn’t mean that everyone’s reaction to the news was that of joy. Some fans are worried that the removal of the Broccoli’s could lead to too much change with the Bond ethos or perhaps might even cheapen the brand with too much media being created. Afterall, Amazon like other studios are always looking to maximise content on their streaming services, but does the idea of a ‘008’ series really captivate all audiences?
Whilst some fears are valid, fans of Bond, at the very least, can now start to look forward to some kind of movement on the next installment on the franchise. After 5 years since Daniel Craig’s last outing with 2021’s ‘No Time to Die’, it’s certainly time to get excited about who could potentially be suited up in the tuxedo next.
With all of Amazon’s financial commitment it certainly shouldn’t be too long before we start hearing more exciting news regarding directors and potential casting news. So, for all new Bond updates and more, stay tuned right here.
