James Bond films on ice over cultural differences with Amazon

The James Bond films have been put on hold while cultural differences are resolved between Barbara Broccoli and Amazon, The Times understands.

The British spy’s last film outing was No Time to Die in 2021, with the three years since representing the third-longest wait for an instalment since Dr. No was released in 1962.

While the pace of releases has slowed in recent times, new instalments have tended to arrive every two or three years. However, with no sign of a script, director or actor to succeed Daniel Craig, fans are not expecting a new film for at least another two years.

Reports have emerged of a tense stand-off between Broccoli, the 64-year-old who controls the franchise, and Amazon, which acquired the rights when it paid $8.45 billion for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio two years ago.

At the time, the Bond franchise was considered a key reason for the acquisition but relations have soured. Broccoli has been disparaging of Bond’s new owners, who she described as “idiots”, according to The Wall Street Journal.

She is said to be particularly suspicious of the tech company’s data-driven approach, which is at odds with her more traditional, instinct-led stewardship of the character.

Broccoli, who inherited control of 007 from her father, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, more than three decades ago, exudes a “den mother authority” over almost every aspect of the franchise, the journal said.

She considers Bond a family heirloom to be cherished and wields sufficient power to hold Bond “hostage” from Amazon for as long as she sees fit.

She is said to be suspicious of Amazon’s background in retail and has quoted her father, who secured the rights to Ian Fleming’s novels, by warning: “Don’t have temporary people make permanent decisions.”

Amazon declined to comment but insiders have privately acknowledged that no announcement of a new film is on the horizon. There is also an acceptance that the slower pace at which Amazon’s programming division operates is at odds with Broccoli’s more traditional “gut instinct” method.

A reference to Bond as “content” by an Amazon boss, who had been dispatched to win over Broccoli, was instead received as a “death knell”. A number of staff departures at MGM following the sale to Amazon have also unsettled the producer.

However, executives at Amazon are understood to remain confident that the cultural chasm can be bridged and a new project agreed upon. They pointed to her positive response to Amazon’s Bond-themed TV reality series 007: Road to a Million. The show, which starred Succession’s Brian Cox, will return for a second series.

Broccoli has shepherded Fleming’s creation since the 1995 blockbuster GoldenEyewhich introduced Pierce Brosnan to the role. She was instrumental in casting the relative newcomer Craig for the 2006 reboot, Casino Royale.

She is said to be relaxed about casting a person of colour or a gay actor but less comfortable with a female or non-British Bond.