Extra particulars in regards to the James Bond stalemate at Amazon floor as harsh phrases between prime brass reportedly fly.
Proper now, the hallowed James Bond franchise feels in a tighter spot than turning into strapped to a desk as a laser beam inches towards your nethers. Since Daniel Craig’s retirement because the legendary superspy, the destiny of 007 is a huge query mark. Whether or not it’s deciding who the following Bond ought to be or the act of transferring forward with a British Secret Intelligence Service tv sequence, the scenario seems aimless and exhausting. In response to a write-up from The Hollywood Reporter, followers can chalk a lot of the ire as much as harm emotions and an absence of a transparent artistic course.
In response to THR, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos needed full artistic management of the Bond IP after listening to an off-color remark by longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli. In December 2024, The Wall Avenue Journal revealed a bit wherein Broccoli was quoted telling private associates that Amazon executives have been “fucking idiots,” relating to their dealing with of the James Bond franchise. Phrase travels quick in Hollywood and Broccoli’s alleged feedback activated alarm bells in Bezos.
Digging deeper into the scenario, THR says Bezos “read her quote in the Journal and got on the phone and said, ‘I don’t care what it costs, get rid of her,’” in accordance with an insider who requested to stay nameless. As a manner of including gas to the hearth, Broccoli turned upset after listening to Amazon content material chief Jennifer Salke consult with the Bond IP as “content” as a substitute of the enduring franchise we all know it to be. Broccoli’s half-brother, Michael G. Wilson, was additionally pushed out of conferences with Amazon executives, widening the divide between artistic forces.
Earlier this week, Longlegs and The Monkey director Osgood Perkins issued harsh phrases about Jeff Bezos after being requested if he’d direct a brand new James Bond film. The query got here to Perkins through a Reddit AMA, which learn as follows: “Are you open to directing a Bond movie/trilogy? If so, who would you cast as your version of Bond?” Perkins shortly replied, “No, because fuck Jeff Bezos.”
In late February, Amazon MGM Studios and longtime Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli introduced a shift in management as they ceded artistic management over to Amazon. Below the brand new deal, Wilson, Broccoli, and Amazon would share co-ownership of Bond, with Amazon deciding the franchise’s destiny and course. Whereas Perkins will not be within the working to helm a Bond undertaking, demand for his abilities is on the rise as motion pictures like Longlegs and The Monkey proceed to resonate with audiences.
One other identify floated as a candidate for a 007 undertaking is Conclave filmmaker Edward Berger. Whereas talking with Selection’s Marc Malkin on the 2025 Oscars pink carpet, Berger stated his curiosity in getting concerned with the Bond franchise has shifted after the alternate of possession.
“Barbara Broccoli is no longer doing it and she is at the heart of this project, so I think it’s something different,” Berger stated when requested if he’d helm a Bond film. “I don’t know. Things have changed. We will certainly miss her very much.”
007’s destiny has dangled from the sting of a artistic cliff for what looks like a very long time, with actors like Henry Cavill, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tom Hardy, Dan Stevens, Idris Elba, Richard Madden, Regé-Jean Web page, Tom Hiddleston, and extra rumored to turn into the worldwide superspy. Nevertheless, with artistic forces behind the Bond IP seemingly at conflict, 007 straddles a stalemate from which escape is difficult.
Whereas the confusion might seem as territorial pissings, it’s essential to recollect how beneficial the Bond franchise is. Few characters keep generational leaps like James Bond, who has appealed to audiences of all ages for many years. Pushing Bond within the incorrect course would spell catastrophe for a beloved cinematic icon, thus making the necessity for good selections paramount to his survival in a time when persons are fast to guage.
What would you want from the James Bond IP? Who ought to play the character in future installments? May you break up the character between characteristic movies and a tv sequence? Tell us what you suppose within the feedback part under.
