An explosive report has claimed the future of the James Bond franchise is “on pause” amid what has been described as an “ugly” stalemate between Amazon and the family who owns the character.
Barbara Broccoli, who retains creative control over Bond and makes the decision as to who gets to portray the MI6 British spy, is currently in a tug-of-war with Amazon, which acquired the right to release Bond films after purchasing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in a deal worth $8.45 billion back in 2021. This has left the character “trapped”, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In addition, the report alleges that Broccoli does not trust the “algorithm-centric” Amazon with the Bond character, preferring to use “gut instinct with a healthy amount of risk.” Broccoli cast Daniel Craig, not nearly as famous at the time, as the lead role of Bond for the incredibly successful Casino Royale (2006) and its sequels. Conversely, Amazon prefers to calculate its risk based on factors like an actor’s past performance or the success of their prior films. Amazon doesn’t want to take risks on casting unknowns in lead roles like Bond, according to WSJ.
Currently, there is no script and no new Bond for a new movie. The WSJ said: “To friends, Broccoli has characterized her thoughts on Amazon this way: ‘These people are f***ing idiots.’ “