James Bond fans are furious about Amazon’s takeover of the franchise, with many believing the studio will “ruin” the iconic film series.
It was announced yesterday (February 20) that long-serving producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are stepping back from the creative process and handing over control of the beloved franchise to Amazon MGM Studios, ending over 60 years of the Broccoli family overseeing the films.
Fans have since made their feelings clear about the takeover, with many taking to the James Bond Reddit page to express their concerns.
“Oh shit, they’re going to absolutely ruin it, aren’t they?” commented one person, while another wrote: “It’s clearly the end of the franchise for long-time Bond fans. Amazon have too much form in ignoring lore and precedent. They’ll make a lot of mediocre spin-offs and try to saturate the market to get people to stay subscribed to Prime.”
Another fan responded to the news: “Only reason James Bond managed to stay relevant for 50 years is cause it was controlled by steady creative hand that wasn’t just interested in short terms profits.
“That has now changed. With James Bond book IP going public domain in 2035 expect MGM to release a flood of mediocre James Bond branded content from TV shows to reality shows to everything else. It’s over.”
There has been no official announcement regarding the next James Bond film, with the last being Daniel Craig’s farewell in 2021’s No Time To Die.
Craig has since shared his thoughts on the takeover, saying in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter: “My respect, admiration and love for Barbara and Michael remain constant and undiminished.”
He continued: “I wish Michael a long, relaxing (and well-deserved) retirement and whatever ventures Barbara goes on to do, I know they will be spectacular and I hope I can be part of them.”
While Amazon now has creative control of the franchise, the studio will still share the intellectual property rights with Broccoli and Wilson.
Amazon acquired its share of the rights to the James Bond franchise in 2021 when they purchased studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The acquisition gave them access to the previous films and distribution of future movies, but up until now not the creative direction.
Following the takeover announcement, Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of Amazon, took to social media to ask fans who should next portray the iconic spy.
Among the most common replies were Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James and James McAvoy.
Aaron Taylor-John has been in the front-running for the role since Craig retired as 007. Last year, it was reported that he had been offered the role, although the actor avoided the question when asked about it on the red carpet for action-comedy The Fall Guy.
Former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has also weighed in on the potential casting, showing his support for Taylor-Johnson early last year: “I think the man has the chops and the talent and the charisma to play Bond, very much so.”