If you want to be shaken and stirred then unfortunately, read on. The future of James Bond has never looked more uncertain than it does right now. In a recent feature from The Wall Street Journal, Barbara Broccoli, the longtime steward of the 007 franchise, gave a bitter update on the status of the next Bond film, revealing that there’s “no script, no story and no new Bond.” Looks like it’s a licence to stall for the time being. Nearly three years after Amazon acquired MGM for $6.5 billion, which included the rights to distribute Bond films, the relationship between the people who are delivering your Christmas gifts and Eon Productions (run by Broccoli and her stepbrother Michael Wilson) has reached a standstill.
Amazon had big dreams for Bond’s future, brainstorming ideas for spinoffs featuring supporting characters like Moneypenny or even a female 007. Broccoli’s response to such enthusiasm, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, was a simple: “Did you read the contract?”
James Bond is in Limbo
The standoff means that the future of 007 is completely in limbo. Despite Amazon’s eagerness to fast-track new projects, Broccoli has repeatedly pumped the brakes. The franchise hasn’t moved closer to a new installment since No Time to Die hit theatres in 2021, which is the longest it’s been since Bond was on the big screen since the 6 years between Licence to Kill and GoldenEye back in 1995.
And for Broccoli, timing is everything. “Don’t have temporary people make permanent decisions,” she reportedly says, echoing the advice of her father, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, who built Bond into a cultural phenomenon. The delays are just another complication as Broccoli currently figures out who will be the next Bond, a decision that could make or break the series altogether. Amazon’s lack of knowledge on how to handle Bond could prove to be one of the biggest mishandlings of a franchise in history, and alienating the brains behind it is certainly not a good way to go about things.
Despite the standoff, Broccoli remains committed to ensuring that Bond stays true to his origins and getting the next film over the line, despite the challenges currently facing the man on His Majesty’s Secret Service. “We’ve extended Britain’s finest hour over sixty years because of him,” she told biographer Nicholas Shakespeare earlier this year.
All the James Bond films can currently be streamed on Prime Video. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on the murky future of James Bond.
No Time to Die
- Release Date
-
October 8, 2021
- Director
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Cary Fukunaga
- Cast
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Daniel Craig
, Rami Malek
, Lea Seydoux
, Ralph Fiennes
, Lashana Lynch
, Jeffrey Wright
, Billy Magnussen
, Dali Benssalah
, Naomie Harris
, Rory Kinnear
, Ben Whishaw
, Ana De Armas
, David Dencik - Runtime
-
163 Minutes
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