Amazon Buying MGM Gives Them Access To These Fan-Favorite Franchises

Amazon has acquired MGM for $8.5 billion, giving Amazon Studios access to a massive library of classic and contemporary IPs. A lot of people may be aware of some of the top franchises MGM has a hand in (James Bond), but it may be surprising to learn that there are some other fan-favorite movie and TV franchises that actually fall under the umbrella of MGM ownership.

Below we break down the list of movies and then TV shows that Amazon could now re-invest in as a result of acquiring MGM. Will we see some of them on the big screen and/or streaming in the coming years? Time will tell…

Robocop

Right off the bat, one of the most exciting properties Amazon just acquired is the Robocop film franchise. Fans have been waiting decades now for the story of Murphy to continue in better fashion than the forgettable 2014 reboot we got. Comic books have done all kinds of awesome things with the Robocop mythology since the original film’s release – Amazon should take note. 

Silence of the Lambs

MGM got a hand in the Silence of the Lambs franchise after the original film’s release. That includes the Hannibal sequel film as well as the Red Dragon and Hannibal Rising prequel movies. While MGM also co-produces the new Clarice TV series with CBS, the studio, unfortunately, wasn’t part of the fan-favorite Hannibal TV series, so don’t get your revival hopes up. 

Creed

MGM has been part of the Rocky franchise since Rocky III – and that includes the Creed spinoff films. Now that Creed has proven that there is viable potential in the Rocky universe, Amazon could be motivated to continue exploring it. 

Poltergiest

MGM had a fair amount of big horror titles, but the most viable one for reboot is probably the Poltergeist franchise. Like Robocop, Poltergeist tried and failed to get a new lease on life in the 2010s. But now there are more viable ways for Amazon to bring it back as either a movie universe or TV series

Species

This sci-fi/horror cult movie from the ’90s grew to become a four-film franchise and multimedia IP, including a novel and multiple Dark Horse comic series. Now that we basically know that aliens are real (and here!) it would be prime time (see what I did there?) for Amazon to relaunch it. 

Stargate

Stargate was a dark horse success story, inspiring decades of popular TV shows from a cult-hit film from Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) in the mid-90s. Stargate has one of the more dedicated fanbases out there, so Amazon would be foolish not to keep it going with a new installment. 

Pink Panther

The Pink Panther animated character and the Inspector Clouseau films that inspired it are both in the hands of MGM. There are a lot of ways for Amazon to tap back into that franchise, in both animated and live-action forms.

The Handmaid’s Tale

This could be the biggest steal that Amazon has pulled off if subsequent seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale make the jump from Hulu over to Prime Video. As Hulu’s biggest hit original series to date, this could a big loss for that Disney-owned steamer.  

Fargo

Noah Hawley’s cult-hit Fargo TV series is an MGM production, meaning that broadcast TV success is no longer necessary to keep the anthology series going. That may be good news for its fans. 

Vikings

Vikings ended its run in 2020 after six seasons, but like Fargo, it could get an extended run as a recognizable franchise on Amazon Prime Video. 

Chappelle’s Show

At the very least, Prime Video could join Paramount+, Netflix, and HBO Max in offering fans Chappelle’s Show on a streaming platform. At most, Amazon has the limitless money to throw at Dave Chappelle to do more. Hey! We can dream…