Amazon MGM Studios just acquired creative control over James Bond – and the fate of the 60-year-old spy franchise now rests in the streaming giant's hands.
Amazon released a joint statement with Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli that the studio will now house the intellectual property rights to the franchise with Wilson and Broccoli remaining co-owners. The news comes after reports that Broccoli and Amazon were disagreeing where to go with the next James Bond film, which involves going the MCU route and turning Bond into a shared universe.
"We are grateful to the late Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman for bringing James Bond to movie theatres around the world," Amazon wrote in their statement. "And to Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for their unyielding dedication and their role in continuing the legacy of the franchise that is cherished by legions of fans worldwide. We are honoured to continue this treasured heritage, and look forward to ushering in the next phase of the legendary 007 for audiences around the world.”
Amazon acquired distribution rights for the James Bond franchise after merging with MGM in 2022. Some fans are worried that this means any upcoming 007 movies (after they finally choose the new Bond, of course) will be released straight to streaming, and that the focus will be put on streaming shows set in the Bond universe, but necessarily starring Bond (Think John Wick spin-off The Continental).
"It’s over. Bond is dead," a Twitter user wrote. "Random streaming shows set in the James Bond universe without Bond himself incoming," one fan wrote. "They better still make movies for the cinema, James Bond should not be straight to streaming," wrote another. "This is terrible news because Barbara was the only one who was keeping Amazon away from turning 007 into a cinematic universe," someone said.
Even Domino's Pizza chimed in, writing, "The name's Bezos. Jeff Bezos."
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