On February 20, local time in the United States, Hollywood broke news. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, the long-time producers of the James Bond film series, officially stepped down, and Amazon's MGM Pictures announced that it had taken over the creative power of the IP.
On November 17, 2024, local time, Barbara Broccoli (left) and Michael G. Wilson attended the 15th Producers Guild Awards at the Ray Doby Ballroom in Los Angeles and received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Visual China Photo
As part of the agreement, the two parties will establish a new joint venture to be fully responsible for the intellectual property rights of the 007 series. Broccoli and Wilson will still be co-owners of the IP, but the subsequent development work will be entirely handed over to Amazon. For this, the latter is said to have paid a takeover fee of up to $1 billion, but insiders at Amazon Studios said that this figure was "not based on facts" but were unwilling to provide more details of the transaction. It is worth mentioning that the past 25 007 films have generated more than $7.8 billion in global box office so far.
Over the past four years, since the last 007 movie starring Daniel Craig, "No Time to Die" in 2021, it has become a mystery who will play the protagonist James Bond in the future, or whether the filming can continue. Now the two sides have finally reached an agreement, which means that the long-standing stalemate has ended and the preparations for the new 007 movie will proceed steadily.
On September 21, 2022, local time, in California, Michael G. Wilson, Daniel Craig, and Barbara Broccoli attended the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneer Foundation 2022 Pioneer Dinner. Visual China Photo
However, not everyone on social media is optimistic. Best-selling author Don Winslow wrote on X: "This is absolutely heartbreaking news. An era has ended." Independent film critic Griffen Schiller believes that "this is probably the worst decision in the history of the 007 series. This IP will be completely drained."
In addition, many more people lamented: "James Bond is finally dead." After all, in the past period of time, the media has frequently reported that Amazon plans to develop a spin-off series with Bond's boss M's secretary Miss "Moneypenny" as the protagonist, and even a streaming series that focuses on the selling point of female 007. Therefore, 007 fans are generally worried that this Hollywood upstart will turn the 007 world into a big and useless IP freak like Disney developed "Star Wars" or the Marvel Universe.
Amazon Studios acquired MGM for $8.5 billion in 2022, including a huge library of more than 4,000 films and more than 17,000 TV series, as well as the distribution rights of all 007 films. However, the creative control of 007 is still firmly in the hands of Wilson, 83, and his 64-year-old half-sister Barbara Broccoli. The two inherited the 007 series from their father, Albert R. Broccoli, and also won this year's Oscar honorary award, the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award.
In this context, several media outlets have previously reported on the strained relationship between the two parties. The Wall Street Journal even reported at the end of 2024 that the relationship between the two parties was "almost broken" and Broccoli had described Amazon Studios as "idiots" in front of his friends. In particular, Amazon MGM CEO Jennifer Salke was very annoyed because she once used the word "content" to describe the 007 movie.
However, judging from the joint press release issued by both parties on Thursday, the tone is obviously no longer so confrontational. Wilson described Amazon Studios as a "trusted partner" in the press release, and he will focus on charitable projects in the future. Mike Hopkins, speaking on behalf of Amazon MGM, said, "For more than 60 years, James Bond has been one of the most iconic characters in the global film industry. We thank the late Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman for bringing James Bond to theaters around the world, and thank Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for their unyielding dedication and their role in continuing the James Bond series. James Bond is loved by fans all over the world, and we are honored to continue this precious IP and look forward to bringing the next stage of the legend to global audiences."
According to another source, there is no clue about the future 007 movies, including the next starring actor, director and screenwriter. This also means that the next 007 movie may have to wait for several years before it is released. However, Amazon boss Bezos himself posted on Thursday to publicly solicit suitable starring candidates. "Who would you choose to play the next 007?" He wrote on the social media platform. The most popular candidate among netizens is the former Superman Henry Cavill.
Amazon boss Bezos has taken to his personal social media account to recruit candidates for the next Bond.
