The next part of the “James Bond” series is still in limbo due to a dispute between the main producer of the series and its new owners, Amazon.
in a report From The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and Amazon — which bought MGM Studios in 2021 — are in an “ugly stalemate” over decisions regarding the future of the franchise. This includes decisions about whether Bond should be made into a streaming series, or more philosophical decisions, such as whether the titular character should be a hero.
“I have to be honest, I don't think James Bond is a hero,” an Amazon executive said during a recent meeting about upcoming Bond content. This quote seems to refer to Broccoli's fear that Amazon does not understand the character to whom she has dedicated her career.
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Amazon and Bond producer Barbara Broccoli are reportedly in an “ugly stalemate” over the future of the James Bond film series. (Getty Images)
Broccoli, who has had creative control over the “007” film franchise for more than thirty years, “told friends she didn't trust an algorithm-centric Amazon with a character she helped mythologize through big-screen storytelling and gut instinct,” Wall Street Journal reported. Journal. I mentioned.
According to the report, the relationship between Broccoli and Bond's new owners is so tense, that this fall, Broccoli described the situation of a new film in desperate terms – no script, no story, no new Bond. This lack of momentum in the series nearly three years after the last film was released in 2021.No time to die“is unprecedented for a series that has been accustomed to having an installment roughly every year or two since it began in the 1960s.
“These people are stupid,” Broccoli reportedly told friends about Amazon executives.
The Wall Street Journal spoke to 20 people familiar with the dispute between Amazon and Broccoli to understand the nature of the impasse, writing that it “boils down to a struggle between 20th-century Hollywood with big screens and big swings and the new entertainment industry ruled by Silicon Valley.” Companies that value data, algorithms, and streaming subscriptions.”
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Actor Daniel Craig's fifth and final turn as James Bond was in 2021's No Time to Die. (Karaway Tang)
Broccoli “complained that Amazon is not a good home for Bond, given that the company’s core business is selling everything from toilet paper to vacuum cleaners,” the report said, though she noted that she had not spoken out against Amazon’s purchase of MGM because “ “I didn't want to complicate what many in Hollywood viewed as huge payouts to MGM's owners.”
As part of the deal, MGM executives confirmed that Amazon is committed to putting Bond on the big screen rather than relegating the franchise to a live-action series. The outlet noted that when an enthusiastic Amazon executive floated the idea of several Bond TV spin-offs, including a potential “Moneypenny” spin-off, or a female 007 spin-off, Broccoli shot down the idea.
“Did you read the contract?” She reportedly responded.
Over the past several years, Broccoli has resisted a variety of ideas within the industry that Bond could take on a different identity in terms of gender or race in upcoming films. But as the media reported. You think A spy “must always be played by a man, and must always be played by a Briton.”
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The Wall Street Journal also reported that Broccoli shot down Bond's villain-inspired ideas from the mainstream Real world characters Which some see as evil.
“Elon Musk? “I did it in 1997,” she told a friend. Broccoli was referring to the villain from the 007 film series that year, “Tomorrow Never Dies.” The outlet described the villain as “a wealthy businessman whose global media empire includes a satellite network “.
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The Wall Street Journal concluded its report with a final example of the tense relationship between Broccoli and Amazon. She noted that during her acceptance speech at the Film Industry Awards in November, she “didn't mention Amazon.”
Amazon did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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