Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | News | February 20, 2025
In something of a shock, Amazon MGM has wrestled complete control of the James Bond franchise from longtime producers and custodians of 007, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. While the two will retain rights under a new joint agreement with Amazon MGM, they will no longer oversee the development of the films.
This marks a seismic shift in the history of the James Bond franchise. For over 60 years, the creative direction of 007 has been controlled by the Broccoli family through EON Productions. Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, as the stewards of Bond, have carefully maintained the character’s legacy, overseeing every casting decision, story development, and production choice with an iron grip.
By ceding creative control to Amazon MGM Studios, this is the first time a corporate entity—not the Broccoli family—will have the final say over Bond’s future. While Amazon MGM already owned the rights to distribute Bond films following its acquisition of MGM in 2022, it now wields power over the franchise’s creative direction, from casting to shaping the tone and storytelling of future films. The house that Jeff Bezos built will now control who plays the next Bond, and the one after that, and the one after that.
That’s the least of our worries, though, because, with Amazon MGM in complete creative control, you can bet your ass there will be TV shows, cinematic universes, spin-offs, and animates series, as Amazon squeezes every drop of value from the IP — much as Disney has done with Star Wars. The Broccoli family was careful not to kill its golden goose. Amazon MGM is going to murder it, drop its corpse from a skyscraper, and then back over it with an 18-wheeler.
via Variety
