Amazon MGM Studios confirms that it’s now formed an official joint venture with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, for James Bond.
The future of the James Bond saga has taken quite a turn today, as reported here. The news landed that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, the long term guardians of the franchise, have given creative control of 007 to Amazon MGM Studios.
Amazon MGM Studios has held a stake in the future of James Bond ever since Amazon’s purchase of MGM, yet it’s little secret that creative differences have held up James Bond 26. It’s now nearly six years since No Time To Die was shooting, and by the time the next movie arrives, it’ll have been at least six years between releases.
Amazon MGM has been keen to clear up something that’s come across in reporting of the news, however, and we’ve been asked – and are happy to do so – to make clear the following:
‘Amazon MGM Studios, Michael G. Wilson, and Barbara Broccoli today announced that they have formed a new joint venture to house the James Bond intellectual property rights, and those parties will remain co-owners of the franchise.’
From that, it’s clear that Wilson and Broccoli still have some investment in the future of James Bond. However, the change here is that they previously oversaw the creative direction of 007. Going forward, that job now falls to Amazon MGM Studios. What guardrails have been put in place remain to be seen, but it’s no secret that Broccoli and Wilson have been adamant that James Bond belongs in a cinema. In fairness too to Amazon, it’s the one big company actively involved in the streaming market that regularly commits to cinema releases.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the new deal underpinning the future of James Bond, but it’s not hard to imagine that Amazon MGM Studios will want to get a crack on with things, and be in production on whatever James Bond 26 turns out to be.
More as we hear it.
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