James Bond | Amazon’s bill for creative control was $20m

Amazon didn’t pay $1bn up front for creative control of the James Bond saga after all. Turns out it was a lot, lot less than that. With Amazon deep in development – finally – on the next James Bond picture, news reaches us that the bill for it to get full creative control of 007 ... James Bond | Amazon’s bill for creative control was $20m

Amazon didn’t pay $1bn up front for creative control of the James Bond saga after all. Turns out it was a lot, lot less than that.

With Amazon deep in development – finally – on the next James Bond picture, news reaches us that the bill for it to get full creative control of 007 was a lot lower than first reported.

The number that was swirling around at the time was in the region of $1bn. It turns out that the up-front cost was a lot more modest, with Eon Productions’ newly-released earnings report suggesting the number was $20m.

The exact quote?

“On 20 February 2025, the company entered into an agreement for the sale of its interest in the Bond franchise, all associated assets as well as its subsidiary companies, B24 Limited and B25 Limited. The total consideration for the sale amounted to $20 million (USD).”

Now that looks, on the surface, to be the kind of change that Amazon chief Jeff Bezos drops down the sofa while he’s watching reruns of Glee on Prime Video. Still, the likelihood is that there’s a bit more money to come. Not listed in the earnings report are any stock options or profit cut-ins that Eon may have negotiated. And let’s face it, probably has negotiated. But still, Amazon probably couldn’t believe its luck when an up front number of $20m to unlock the franchise was mentioned.

It’s certainly moving things forward. Steven Knight is hard at work writing the screenplay to whatever James Bond 26 turns out to be. That, in turn, is going to be directed by Denis Villeneueve, once he’s done with Dune 3, which remains his immediate priority. Amy Pascal and David Heyman are producing the film, too.

All it needs now is a new James Bond to take over from Daniel Craig, and then we’re likely looking at a release date in 2027. As ever, more as we hear it. There’s more on the deal in the meantime, here.