In late January 2024, Barbara Broccoli graced New York's Atlantic Theater with her presence for a showing of her stage musical, “Buena Vista Social Club.” The renowned James Bond producer was accompanied by three leading executives from Amazon MGM Studios — Jennifer Salke, Courtenay Valenti, and Julie Rapaport. The evening, which also included dinner, was centered around discussions on the future of the James Bond franchise at Amazon.
In 2022, Amazon acquired MGM for a staggering $8.5 billion, sparking interest in how the tech giant plans to evolve the Bond series. While discussions were spearheaded by Amazon's Mike Hopkins, the meeting aimed to ease Broccoli into the studio's nascent plans for the first Bond movie under the Amazon umbrella. However, sources indicate that Broccoli, a seasoned gatekeeper of the franchise, left the meeting feeling uninspired by Salke's approach.
Following a prolonged negotiation period, Amazon is on the verge of gaining full control over the Bond franchise, which has produced 25 films about the iconic Agent 007. This move comes with regulatory approval pending in both the U.S. and U.K., expected within the year. Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos is particularly interested in integrating Bond into the digital age, drawing parallels to other mega-brands like Lucasfilm, Marvel, and DC.
For years, Broccoli and her half-brother, Michael Wilson, resisted fully exploiting the property across multiple platforms. Their cautious approach may have been wise, given the audience fatigue experienced by brands like Disney's Marvel and Lucasfilm. However, some industry insiders argue that Broccoli's tight control over Bond could have stifled its potential. Notably, director Christopher Nolan showed interest in a Bond film post-“Tenet,” but creative differences led him to pursue “Oppenheimer” instead.
Amazon's focus remains on crafting a high-quality Bond film rather than a TV series. The studio has seen success with series like “The Boys” and “Fallout,” but faced challenges with projects such as “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” A Bond TV series could strain Amazon's capabilities, as evidenced by the costly production of the spy series “Citadel.”
Although Broccoli remains creatively linked to Amazon, the studio eyes a producer akin to David Heyman for the Bond project. In parallel, Broccoli is involved in producing a remake of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” with Amazon. As negotiations progress, industry agencies are eager to pitch top-tier writers, directors, and actors for the next Bond film. Former Amazon Studios chief Roy Price humorously suggests that Jeff Bezos should have a cameo as a supervillain’s IT technician in the upcoming Bond adventures.
