Does James Bond need to be an entire shared universe franchise like Marvel or DC? Reportedly that’s a debate happening within Amazon/MGM right now – and it’s not sounding like a pretty or productive situation. The long-short is that there’s reportedly no forward motion on the next Bond movie, three years after the release of No Time to Die – no script, no director, and no actor announced to take over the role of Bond from Daniel Craig. As a new report tells it, executives at Amazon and longtime Bond rights holders/film producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are very much at odds with one another.
Videos by ComicBook.com
WSJ dropped the scathing exposé on the state of the James Bond franchise, noting that Broccoli has allegedly been overheard saying that the team at Amazon are no less than”f***ing idiots,” and accusing them of taking the Bond franchise “hostage.” It’s also noted that Amazon execs like Jennifer Salke referring to Bond as “content” has angered Broccoli, who views the franchise as a sacred cinematic touchstone.
[RELATED: Aaron Taylor-Johnson Responds to James Bond Casting Rumors]
Many eyebrows were raised when Amazon acquired MGM Studios in 2021; Amazon gained access to some fan-favorite franchises in the deal, but Bond was clearly the biggest prize. However, after No Time to Die was released that same year, all the hype about the next era of Bond (under Amazon’s banner) slowly died off, and it felt like the franchise started to experience something many never thought it would: falling into obscurity.
In the content-saturated world of today, It’s debatable whether or not James Bond films – on their own – are still the same draw they used to be. No one seems able to agree on what kind of actor should take on the role; whether Bond should maintain the same core characteristics and the formula that have made him a staple for 50+ years – or if the character needs to be updated for modern times and tastes.
Earlier this year, rumors were swirling around the UK that Kraven the Hunter, Bullet Train, and Nosferatu actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson had formally been offered the role of playing the next James Bond. Since then, Taylor-Johnson hasn’t addressed the issue, and producers aren’t speaking up, either. Now, with this new report, it seems that even if ATJ is set to play Bond, there’s no actual film for him to star in.
Bond Being a Bad Fit For Amazon Is Hardly Surprising
Amazon has been gaining ground as a production studio by acquiring well-established properties and developing successful new eras of TV or movie content out of them. In the last year alone, Prime Video has had breakout hits with a new Road House remake; another season of its Lord of the Rings prequel series The Rings of Power; a wildly successful video game adaptation (Fallout); a new adult-themed Batman animated series (Caped Crusader); a bigger sophomore season for breakout hit Reacher; a new take on Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and an Alex Cross TV reboot – just to name a few.
Every single one of those aforementioned projects comes with either deep source material lore to pull from, or (in the cases of Road House and Mr. & Mrs. Smith) an original framework that could be bent into interesting new shapes. It’s a strategy that’s been working well for Amazon; however, what we don’t see the studio excelling at is continuing with established formulas for veteran IPs, which is likely what Broccoli wanted and/or expected from the partnership. The Bond rights are a family-owned property (Broccoli and Wilson are half-siblings) and that family is notoriously protective over the 007 brand.
Can James Bond Work As a Shared Universe?
Having Bond pulled away and stretched out into something like a Marvel or DC shared universe has never been Broccoli’s goal. Unlike what happened with Star Wars, she’s been adamant about Bond films never losing their appeal as big, epic, cinematic events.
There’s a certain amount of logic to that view: even though there are enough supporting characters and organizations in Bond lore for spinoffs, once you take Bond out of it they arguably slide into being generic espionage/action content, of little distinction. Pitches like a ‘Goldfinger origin story,’ or a spinoff about 006 (Goldeneye), American spies like Halle Berry’s Jinx (Die Another Day), or allies like Bond’s gadget-man Q in their formative years, sound flimsy, if not DOA. Young Bond has been done before, and any attempts to do a “daughter of Bond” film or series (based on the bittersweet ending of No Time to Die) also fell misguided.
It’s funny to hear Amazon is even allegedly considering a Bond shared universe: Prime Video has already invested (heavily) in Citadel, the blockbuster-sized spy-action saga from The Russo Bros.’ (Avengers: Endgame) AGBO production company. Citadel has spinoffs set in different countries, aimed at generating massive viewership in foreign markets like India and Italy, as well as the US and UK. The lukewarm success of the entire Citadel franchise should be a red flag, and swapping out that startup IP with an established name like “Bond” probably won’t work any better.
The James Bond film franchise is currently lingering in development.
