English actor Daniel Craig walks on the purple carpet after arriving to attend the World Premiere of the James Bond 007 movie “No Time to Die” on the Royal Albert Corridor in west London on Sept. 28, 2021. Picture: Tolga Akmen/AFP
In a transfer that appears set to shake — and possibly even stir — one in all Hollywood’s most bankable franchises, Amazon MGM Studio is to take inventive management of James Bond, because the fictional British spy’s longtime producers step again.
An settlement introduced Thursday, Feb. 20, sees possession of the rights to 007 shared between the film behemoth and producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who’re heading into retirement.
The information comes 4 years after the final Bond movie, by which Daniel Craig bowed out as the key agent, with followers left to fill the interim with hypothesis about who will change him.
Now with Amazon on the helm, the viewers could not have to attend too lengthy for the subsequent installment — or for spin-offs.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wasted no time in soliciting opinions.
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“Who’d you choose as the subsequent Bond?” Bezos requested followers on X.
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The settlement confirms that Wilson and Broccoli is not going to be concerned within the Bond franchise after they signed off in 2021 with “No Time to Die” — the twenty fifth James Bond film, which earned $775 million.
Wilson, whose profession with 007 spans practically 60 years, mentioned he would concentrate on “artwork and charitable tasks,” whereas Broccoli has introduced plans to pursue different ventures.
Treasured heritage
“We’re honored to proceed this treasured heritage,” mentioned Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, noting the franchise’s six-decade affect on movie tradition.
The deal builds on Amazon’s 2022 acquisition of MGM, which included distribution rights to Bond’s intensive again catalog.
The brand new association provides Amazon MGM Studios inventive authority over future productions of the franchise, which has been intently guarded by the Broccoli household since Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman first introduced writer Ian Fleming’s character to theaters.
Barbara Broccoli, who has labored with 4 completely different actors within the position of 007 — Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Craig — described her tenure as “devoted to sustaining and constructing upon the extraordinary legacy” inherited from Cubby, her father.
Wilson and Broccoli have been steadfast in defending the James Bond character and model, and resisted spin-offs and licensing that they felt may need tarnished the franchise.
The monetary phrases of the three way partnership weren’t disclosed.
Response to the information on social media was largely downbeat, with followers lamenting what they noticed because the inevitable over-exploitation of the model by the Amazon juggernaut.
A number of customers tweeted variations on “RIP James Bond,” posting memes of headstones and franchise characters dying.
“DON’T cinematic universe James Bond,” wrote @joerussotweets, referring to the huge growth of Marvel characters underneath Disney possession.
“It’s one in all our final, nice theatrical occasions. Don’t dilute that with a plethora of streaming spin-offs.”
Whereas the sometimes prolonged waits between installments might frustrate followers, some bemoaned the seemingly dashing up of the method.
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“We used to get a (typically) superb James Bond film each few years, however that’s all out the window now. Prepare for Younger Q and 00 Origins: Trevelyan and different unwatchable Amazon Prime slop,” wrote @MikeBeauvais.
