Amazon will take full creative control of the James Bond franchise

Time (and perhaps a large check or two) heals all wounds. Amazon and the longtime producers and custodians of the James Bond movies have finally agreed on a way forward for the series. Amazon MGM Studios will form a joint venture with Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli that will hold the intellectual property rights and ensure they remain co-owners of the franchise. However, Wilson and Broccoli will be stepping back to focus on other projects, with Amazon gaining full creative control.

The company bought MGM in 2022 for $8.45 billion to get its hands on a renowned film studio with a vast library of film and TV episodes. Co-ownership of the Bond series was a big part of that. However, production of Bond movies had been on hold amid reports of a power struggle between Amazon and Broccoli, who is said to have felt that an ecommerce giant was not the right fit for her family's franchise (she inherited the series from her father, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, who died in 1996).

Until now, Broccoli and her half-brother Wilson had retained creative control. She and her family have been very protective of the series and its legacy. Broccoli reportedly rebuffed most of Amazon's attempts to develop spinoffs, save for the reality competition series 007: Road to a Million. But that's about to change with Amazon seemingly eager to propel the series forward before Ian Fleming's Bond novels fully enter the public domain in a decade — allowing anyone to publish their own adaptations of them.

"My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli," Broccoli said in a statement. "I have had the honor of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry. With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.”

On one hand, the series will be exiting the limbo it's been in since Daniel Craig stepped away from the role after 2021's No Time To Die. We might finally learn who the next James Bond is in the near future. On the other, there's no telling how Amazon might dilute the prestige quality of the franchise with spinoffs and more projects like the game show Brian Cox didn't realize he was signing up to host.

The movies have a tradition of product placement from luxury brands, and we could see Amazon replacing the likes of LG monitors with, say, Echo Show displays. And if ever there was an opportunity for Amazon to create and market its own smartwatch...

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