When Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson ceded all artistic management of James Bond to Amazon MGM Studios, eras ended.
Half-siblings Broccoli and Wilson had extraordinary management over the Bond franchise, personally steering the movies after they inherited the corporate EON Productions from Broccoli’s father and Wilson’s stepfather, Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli in 1995. Greater than any director, they have been the arbiters of “what’s a James Bond movie,” navigating Bond’s post-Chilly Warfare reinvention with Pierce Brosnan within the ’90s and choosing Daniel Craig as his substitute in 2005.
Experiences in Deadline on February 20 say that Amazon purchased out the pair for $1 billion (cue Dr. No: “One billion {dollars}, Mr. Bond! You have been questioning what it prices?”) — however that the vibe in Broccoli and Wilson’s orbit is “of a dying within the household.”
Not way back, a Bond fan would possibly anticipate a 007 movie to function a Jeff Bezos-style villain. He shares a bald pate with Blofeld, in addition to his personal private rocket fleet. Now, he holds the keys to Bond and apart from the chance that Josh O’Connor, star of Amazon MGM Studios’ finest movie so far, “Challengers,” might don Bond’s tux, fan response — together with this one — is combined.
“R.I.P. James Bond Franchise 1962-2025” was social media’s meme du jour. Sure, there’s the opportunity of extra Bond tasks than ever. However at what value?
Disney not solely exhausted the artistic potentialities of Marvel and “Star Wars,” it additionally exhausted the followers. It’s exhausting to not assume that Bond has offered out to Spectre, one other IP to be mined by covetousness worthy of Auric Goldfinger.
For Broccoli and Wilson, Bond was greater than IP; it was a legacy. With Bond as a household enterprise, their relationship to the world’s most well-known spy was private.
There are numerous ways in which Amazon MGM Studios might form the place the films go from right here; some are genuinely thrilling. However above all, this implies:
It’s the Finish of a Main Household-Run Film Franchise
Possibly the one family-run film franchise, relying on the way you outline them. Father-son producing staff Alexander and Ilya Salkind steered the Christopher Reeve “Superman” films, however solely over a couple of years. Earlier than the sale of Lucasfilm in 2012, George Lucas had a private say on most issues associated to the “Star Wars” franchise.
Nevertheless, it’s exhausting to match the extent of management the Broccoli household had over 25 movies. Wilson had cameos in each EON Productions Bond film since 1977. Followers might particularly keep in mind him because the corrupt police superintendent that Giancarlo Giannini’s Mathis has arrested in “On line casino Royale,” however his first was in 1964’s “Goldfinger” as a soldier.
Broccoli was a young person when she first labored on Bond as an uncredited assistant within the PR division for 1977’s “The Spy Who Beloved Me.” For “Moonraker” and “Octopussy,” she was an assistant director (nonetheless uncredited). Lastly in 1985 she was a full “further assistant director” on “A View to a Kill” (Roger Moore’s final 007 movie, and extremely underrated). She was affiliate producer on Timothy Dalton’s two 007 movies, “The Dwelling Daylights” and “Licence to Kill” (word the British spelling). When her father retired following that 1989 movie, she grew to become a Bond producer with 1995’s “GoldenEye.”
Wilson and the Broccolis fashioned shut friendships with the actors who performed Bond. There’s a legendary, perhaps apocryphal, story that Sean Connery met Daniel Craig round 2005 on the EON workplaces at Pinewood Studios, when Connery returned for a haircut. The title for 2021’s “No Time to Die” was additionally the title of considered one of Albert Broccoli’s early producing efforts, the 1958 warfare movie “No Time to Die.” That was written by Richard Maibaum and directed by Terence Younger, who grew to become the primary Bond author and director in 1962 with “Dr. No.” These private touches carried past Bond: Broccoli produced Daniel Craig’s “Othello” and “Macbeth” productions on Broadway.
There are numerous credited Bond administrators, however after I wrote an open letter suggesting that Pierce Brosnan return for a one-off “older Bond” journey reverse a returning Michelle Yeoh, I addressed it to Broccoli because the franchise auteur. One other manner to have a look at it: Irving Kirshner and Maibaum have been the credited administrators on “The Empire Strikes Again” and “Return of the Jedi,” however we nonetheless knew it was Lucas.
On Broccoli and Wilson’s watch, every Bond movie was a bespoke product of a household enterprise. It’s attainable (doubtless) that this restricted the potential for brand spanking new takes on Bond. Now, with Amazon MGM Studios in management, that might imply:
The Potential for Large Artistic Swings — and Auteurs — Goes Up
Bond is (in)well-known for its resistance to outside-the-box visions. When EON Productions turned down Steven Spielberg to direct a Bond film within the late ’70s, he made “Raiders of the Misplaced Ark” (at Lucas’ urging) as an alternative. Quentin Tarantino needed to make “On line casino Royale” as a Nineteen Sixties interval piece that aligned with the aesthetic of the unique Connery movies; Broccoli and Wilson rejected the thought. “Spectre” and “Skyfall” director Sam Mendes was outspoken about his lack of artistic management, saying the producers need “controllable administrators.” We all know no matter Danny Boyle pitched was shot down as effectively.
May a interval model of Bond occur now? Presumably. One thing completely completely different that we’ve by no means seen earlier than? Fully doubtless. May Christopher Nolan lastly reside his childhood dream of directing a Bond film? As a lot as he drew inspiration for the opening of “The Darkish Knight Rises” from the pre-credits scene in “Licence to Kill,” he’s the type of auteur who would in all probability have bristled below Broccoli and Wilson’s imaginative and prescient.
There’s an unlucky flipside, although:
Bond May Obtain Questionable Franchise Extensions
That’s been the worry since Amazon acquired MGM in 2020. We’ve already seen one instance with Amazon’s poorly obtained 2023 actuality competitors sequence, “007: Street to a Million,” hosted by “Succession” star Brian Cox. Sensible UK TV skilled Aaron McGahon imagined Broccoli and Wilson presenting a Marvel Studios-style overload of spinoffs: “The Moneypenny Mysteries,” “Felix Leiter,” “Common Exports” (presumably focusing solely on the workers of Bond’s “cowl firm”), and, in fact, “J.W. Pepper.” I’d even watch a few of these. (Not “J.W. Pepper.”)
Broccoli and Wilson’s household enterprise centered on high quality over amount above all different issues — even on the threat of narrowing concepts of what a Bond movie might be (and that method didn’t forestall a bunch of stinkers). Nevertheless, nearly each Bond film feels prefer it’s made by a human being. Even the Venetian pigeon that offers a double-take in “Moonraker” is the type of oddball, probably godawful nonsense that might by no means be crowdsourced. At the moment, Jeff Bezos requested his followers who they’d prefer to see as the following Bond. Artistic selections by nameless social media customers — up to now, not a path to creative triumph.
Like Disney and Marvel earlier than it, will Amazon strip-mine each side of Bond IP? A five-year or extra wait between films is in the end much more fascinating than 5 spinoffs in a yr. Even Marvel, the studio that outlined the “extra is extra” ethos has backtracked, most lately pausing three reveals in improvement. Bond thrived below Broccoli and Wilson’s “much less is extra” method. As as to if that will probably be deserted — effectively, if there’s a thread by way of each James Bond film, it’s the ability of greed.