Bidding War for James Bond Rights Begins After Spectre

While Daniel Craig has flip-flopped a bit on whether or not he’ll continue on as James Bond, it seems the property itself has an uncertain future, at least as far as who’ll actually distribute the franchise from the 25th movie on.

Spectre is the 24th Bond film, hitting domestic shores November 6 (it’s already open in the UK and setting records to boot). The film is the final in the Sony partnership with MGM and Eon/Danjaq to distribute the film franchise featuring the popular spy – they’ve distributed all four of Daniel Craig’s turns as Bond since the virtual reboot of the series with Casino Royale.

As we reported on October 21, the end of the contract was then possibly and now likely to result in a bidding war over distribution rights. Warner Bros is reportedly in the mix, after partnering with MGM on the Hobbit trilogy, though Fox and Paramount could also be looking to place a bid.

But that’s not all the speculation surrounding James Bond. With Craig stating he has only one more film left and in fact, might not do it, the never ending speculation over who will play the next Bond continues to gain momentum as the Spectre premiere date nears. This online sportsbook is even getting in on the action, favoring Damien Lewis, Tom Hardy, and Idris Elba.

The deals may also hinge on the return of the star, Daniel Craig, and even on directer Sam Mendes, who has headed the last two films.