Amazon MGM Studios has entered into an agreement with long-time producuers and co-owners of the James Bond franchise, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, for Amazon to take creative control of James Bond going forward.
In a press release, Amazon announced the joint venture, which will see Broccoli and Wilson retain co-ownership with Amazon, but put Amazon in the driver’s seat going forward.
“With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects,” said Wilson in the release. “Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future.”
This news comes not long after a report from the Wall Street Journal alleged that a “stalemate” between Broccoli and Amazon had turned “ugly”, claiming that Broccoli didn’t trust Amazon with the character due to the company being “algorithm-centric”.
Amazon has held distribution rights to the James Bond franchise since 2022, when it acquired MGM for $8.5 billion and its massive catalog of thousands of films and TV shows. Over the years, James Bond in film has traditionally been helmed by the late producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, with Broccoli eventually taking over with his stepson Michael Wilson, and Broccoli’s daughter Barbara Broccoli replacing her father in 1995.
The two have overseen the films ever since, with the most recent being No Time to Die in 2021 marking actor Daniel Craig’s official exit from the role of Bond. Broccoli and Wilson kicked up a search for a new Bond in 2022, and actors such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Idris Elba have gained public interest as possibilities, but as of now a replacement has not been found.
The Wall Street Journal report suggests Broccoli was concerned Amazon wouldn’t take a risk on a new Bond casting, preferring known stars, which ran counter to her casting of Craig in 2006 when he was still relatively unknown. As the WSJ said: “To friends, Broccoli has characterized her thoughts on Amazon this way: ‘These people are f***ing idiots.’” At present time, there is no known script nor plan for a new James Bond film, though this may change now that Amazon is in charge.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
