By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
In 2022, Amazon paid $8.5 billion to buy MGM, giving them the rights to release future films in the James Bond franchise. However, there has been no real news regarding the super-spy’s next appearance, and we now know that this is because longtime rights holders and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, clashed with Amazon over the future of Bond. Broccoli reportedly thinks Amazon executives are “fucking idiots” about their plans to create a bunch of Marvel-style James Bond spinoffs, and not only is she right, but the delay she’s caused will undoubtedly save this franchise from its own excess.
Broccoli Goes Rotten to Amazon
According to the Wall Street Journal, Broccoli is the main cause of the delay of James Bond, refusing to develop new films in the franchise with Amazon because she hates their whole approach. Not only is she annoyed that the company wants to turn this beloved film franchise into a mix of TV and movie spinoffs, but she’s miffed that they’re calling future Bond adventures “content.” And even if not all the films released under Broccoli are winners (Spectrumfor example, was a disaster), it is clear that its stubbornness is preventing Amazon from ruining one of the biggest franchises in the world.
Broccoli reportedly described Amazon as holding the James Bond franchise “hostage,” and the delay it caused appears to be its way of rescuing the super-spy from his captors. Some fans might cynically think that this is just a behind-the-scenes power play, a way for her to maintain relevance and control in this brave new Bond world. However, we see things differently: Broccoli learned from the failures of both Wonder and Amazon and doesn’t want his own character to fall victim to the excesses of corporate greed.
James Bond delay prevents MCU-style disaster
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has of course been interconnected from the start with Nick Fury overwrite the post-credits sequence Iron Man. However, one could argue that the beginning of the end of this franchise (or, at least, the beginning of the superhero fatigue that transformed The wonders (a big-budget failure) began with the attempt to cram as much spinoff content into Disney+ as humanly possible. The release of the James Bond films is considered a major cinematic event, and this delay will prevent that from being cheapened by a bunch of crappy TV shows.
Speaking of which, it’s almost impossible to discuss the future of James Bond at Amazon without discussing how that company has handled Lord of the Rings. Only 37 percent of Rings of Power viewers watched the entire first season, and Rotten Tomatoesthe Popcorn meter shows that audiences gave the show a dismal 49 percent rating. The second season was a little better than the first, but the fact that more people are streaming The boys is an indicator that this spin-off failed to impress mainstream audiences, even as it drove away Tolkien purists for making arbitrary changes to the story.
It’s impossible to know everything about what James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli thinks about Amazon, but what we do know indicates that its delay is preventing her legendary character from facing the same problems as Marvel and Lord of the Rings. Rings. It’s clear that treating great franchises as “content” and producing a bunch of spinoffs that no one asked for is the quickest way to dilute the brand and drive away viewers. And doing it just as a new Bond actor is being cast could condemn the franchise to a failure it hasn’t seen since. License to kill became America’s lowest-grossing Bond film.
Ironically, not too long ago, the biggest fight for this franchise was which talented actor (or maybe even actress) would replace Daniel Craig in the title role. We now know that something much worse could happen to James Bond than bad casting… without this delay, it might have already been turned into soulless content designed to do nothing but sell action figures and streaming members. Luckily, Broccoli has stepped in and she could be our last defense against a bunch of Bond spinoffs even worse than the fourth season of The boysand for that, we will be eternally grateful to you.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
