James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has reportedly voiced concerns about the future of the franchise and used some choice words to describe the owners of the 007 series, Amazon.
In 2022, Amazon closed a deal to purchase MGM, the studio which has produced every James Bond film, with all the the spy’s action thrillers being now available on Prime Video including the last instalment, 2021’s No Time to Die.
However, since then no new James Bond projects have been announced and a search for a replacement for Daniel Craig, despite rumours, is still ongoing.
Now a report in the Wall Street Journal, suggests that there is a feud developing between Amazon and Broccoli, who has creative control of Bond with half-brother Michael Wilson, after inheriting the power from her late father Albert R Broccoli.
According to the report, Broccoli believes that she “can hold Bond hostage from Amazon for as long as she sees fit” and doesn’t see the studio as a good fit for Bond. “Don’t have temporary people make permanent decisions,” Broccoli is quoted as saying, a line previously used by her father.
The Journal also reports that a source close to Broccoli has also reportedly called Amazon “f***ing idiots” and has pushed back on their ideas to expand the Bond universe with TV shows, spin-offs and even a female 007, telling them “Did you read the contract?”
Another sticking point between the two parties is over the next Bond actor. Amazon is reportedly reluctant to cast an unknown actor, going against Broccoli’s “gut instinct with a healthy amount of risk” approach, which resulted in Craig landing the role in 2006. She is also open to Bond being played by a nonwhite or gay man but believes the actor should be British.
Amazon is also said to have annoyed Broccoli by referring to Bond as “content” during one meeting.
In November, Broccoli told the Associated Press that the next actor to play Bond will be a “big decision” and that “he’ll likely be in his 30s. Whiteness is not a given.”
“Every time we cast a new actor, the films change. It’s the excitement of a new Bond, a new direction,” Broccoli’s co-producer and brother Michael G Wilson said.
“Every one of these people who took on the role offered something new and different.”
