Amazon may have skin in the game once the MGM takeover is finalized, but Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson still have a huge amount of influence over the James Bond franchise. In fact, perhaps only Kevin Feige at Marvel Studios has more autonomy over one of the industry’s biggest brands than the Eon Productions heads hold over cinema’s most famous secret agent.
Prior to the acquisition, MGM were tasked with financing and distribution, splitting any and all profits with Eon. That leaves Broccoli and Wilson with the final say on marketing, how the distribution model is put in place, veto power and approval over the actor who gets to done the tux, as well as the ability to dismiss any ideas for prequels, spinoffs and TV shows, something they’ve clearly got no interest in.
Critics have likened the pair to running a small family business that just so happens to be a multi-billion dollar blockbuster empire, as opposed to monetizing Bond for all that it’s worth as is typically the case with any valuable IP. That being said, how they get on with the Amazon hierarchy is going to be very curious indeed.
No Time to Die is still on track for an October release despite rumors to the contrary, and in a new interview Broccoli and Wilson admitted that they haven’t started planning for the next era of MI6’s finest just yet.
“It’s tough to think about the future until this film has its moment. I think we just really want to celebrate this and celebrate Daniel, and then when the dust settles, then look at the landscape and figure out what the future is. Although I think one thing we’ve certainly learned in the last 18 months is you never know what the future is. So we have to sit down and think about it.”
Partnering up with a streaming service would have never been on the agenda, so there’s going to be many meetings and discussions taking place behind closed doors as the next era of James Bond begins. One thing you could probably bet your house on is that the feature films will continue to play exclusively in theaters.
