It was recently announced that Amazon is taking creative control over James Bond and the world of 007 from the Broccoli family, which will likely do more harm than good. James Bond is one of cinema’s longest running and most-respected characters. He is a staple of the action genre with his origins on the big screen dating back to 1962 with the first Bond film Dr. No. Sean Connery’s performance as the beloved MI6 spy is iconic and helped lay the foundation for the next 6 actors to play 007 across 25 films. Although Bond has been re-invented for different eras, there’s a core identity across all of these movies, something a lot of franchises would struggle with after this many decades.
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A big piece of that is because James Bond has been shepherded by a very exclusive group of people since he hit the screen. Albert Broccoli, one of the co-founders of Bond productions company Eon Productions, is largely seen as the key driving force behind James Bond when it came to adapting Ian Fleming’s novels. He produced the first 16 Bond movies and eventually passed on the duty of spearheading these films to his daughter Barbara and his step-son Michael G. Wilson.
Essentially, the James Bond movies are a family run business which has empowered them to make casting choices, have final say on story decisions, and much more. Their fingerprints are all over the brand, for better or worse. They know Bond and have been very protective for years over it as it’s their family legacy. They have protected Bond from being milked to death through spin-offs, TV shows, and more. They understand the value Bond has on the big screen and have avoided diluting things. Now, however, all of that goes out the door.
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Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have made a deal reportedly valued at over a billion dollars that will see them giving up control of James Bond to Amazon. The conglomerate bought MGM, the distributer of the Bond films, back in 2021, which would give Amazon a great degree of control over the future of Bond. However, the Broccolis still had the creative power to put their foot down on anything they didn’t like. Amazon has been interested in expanding James Bond since before the deal even closed. According to a report from Wall Street Journal back in December 2024, Amazon floated the idea of a Bond TV series, a Moneypenny spin-off, and even a female Bond series as a way to bolster Prime Video, something Barbara Broccoli was irate over. She specifically took issue with the fact that Amazon executives kept referring to future Bond ideas as “content”, a term that made Bond feel like just a product.
Amazon hoped they could gain her trust, but Broccoli reportedly called Amazon “fu**ing idiots” and was, at the time, willing to hold Bond hostage from the company until they could agree on something. That seems to have been true as it has been four years since the last Bond film and they apparently haven’t even developed a story with a writer or director, let alone come remotely close to casting anyone else in the coveted role. It will still likely be years before we get another James Bond movie. Barbara Broccoli has been known to be firm and had lines in the sand that she was unwilling to cross. However, with her and Wilson both out, all bets are off and it seems unlikely Amazon is going to be patient with these things.
One compromise Broccoli apparently made to appease Amazon was to make a James Bond-themed reality TV series in the vein of The Amazing Race. Titled 007: Road to a Million, contestants race each other around the world to solve puzzles with the hopes of winning a million dollars at the end. The first season has a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes and barely has anything to do with James Bond outside of some occasional references. It’s really bad for an off-shoot of 007… and it’s somehow getting a second season. If that’s the way Amazon kicked things off with its new ownership of James Bond, I have little faith in what else they might do.
While it’s expected Amazon will continue making theatrical James Bond pictures, there are a lot of concerns over how they will treat the brand going forward. A committee of suits who are interested in making the most money rather than the best product will be in charge of Bond. We’ve already heard they are interested in a female Bond, something both Broccoli and former James Bond actor Daniel Craig shut down a few years ago.
“There should simply be better parts for women and actors of color,” said Craig in an interview with Radio Times. “Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?”
The gender of 007 aside, the world of Bond isn’t really that big. It’s not a universe ripe for TV spin-offs or exploration. The adventures are massive in scope, but there are less than five actual characters that are consistently part of these stories with M, Q, and Moneypenny. Does anyone really want a Q spin-off? Is Moneypenny really someone worth dedicating a ten-episode season of television to? Personally, I didn’t leave Skyfall saying “Oh boy, I can’t wait to see what’s next for Moneypenny!” If you dilute it all with spin-offs, 007 will just become yet another generic action series and Bond has been anything but that.
Perhaps the most concerning thing about Amazon’s take over of James Bond isn’t anything to do with franchising the hell out of this thing, but the actual creative decisions. Daniel Craig was an incredible risk when he was cast as James Bond. When he was announced for Casino Royale, people were furious over the idea of a 5’10, blonde James Bond. A lot of big names were in contention for the role and Craig was considered to be a polarizing choice, but Broccoli stuck to her guns. Now, Craig is widely regarded as one of the best Bonds thanks to his performances in Casino Royale, Skyfall, and No Time to Die.
Broccoli also held her ground by delaying No Time to Die multiple times during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was originally slated for an April 2020 premiere, but didn’t release until October 2021. They could’ve put it on streaming or pushed it into theaters sooner, but they waited until fans would be able to go see it at the theater.
The choice to kill Bond in No Time to Die was also a controversial one. Yet, once again, the creative forces behind the movie determined it to be the right one for this story. Would any of this happen at Amazon? Would a company that massive and focused on making sure it has enough “content” for years to come be willing to take a chance on an actor for a big role like Bond, let alone kill him after an unbelievably successful run? It seems unlikely, even if they were willing to end a story, they would probably keep him alive so they could potentially bring the actor back later.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has already asked fans who should be cast as the next James Bond and while I respect the idea of inviting the public to offer their opinion on these things, it’s not how we get the best possible choices. We already know Daniel Craig wouldn’t have been Bond if the fans had a say pre-Casino Royale. Would Heath Ledger have been Joker if the fans had their way? Would Robert Pattinson have been cast as Batman? Probably not! These choices should be made by skilled casting agents and top-tier directors who don’t care about the safe choice.
Amazon also already has a lot of espionage thrillers in the form of The Terminal List, Jack Ryan, and Reacher… and they all kind of blend together. They’re not bad, but they also don’t stand out on their own which would be bad for 007. When it comes to even bigger budget productions like Citadel, Amazon has frequently fumbled the ball. James Bond movies have always been an event and the idea that we could have a new Bond story every six months to a year thanks to spin-offs not only destroys the quality, but makes it feel less special. And we’ve already seen this happen in other franchises Star Wars and Marvel used to feel like special events, but now it doesn’t because it never goes away courtesy of endless Disney+ shows.
All in all, the fact that Amazon had to forcefully offer Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson a billion dollars after years of arguments shows that they probably don’t have the brand’s best interest at heart. Maybe things will be totally fine, but the ideas Amazon has already present behind closed doors and the conditions that made this possible don’t make it seem likely.
What do you think about Amazon taking over Bond? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
