There's one problem standing in the way of a new James Bond film

From 1962 to 2002, twenty films about the secret agent James Bond were released, one every two years. Over the next 19 years, only five emerged, one every 3.8 years. But attendance is set to decline further, given that a sequel to is not currently in the works No Time to Die of 2021, and there isn't even a date announced. We don't even know yet who will direct it, nor above all who will take the place of the lead actor Daniel Craig.

According to the Wall Street Journal, for the moment there are no conditions for the situation to be resolved: the next Bond film in fact does not start due to disagreements between Barbara Broccoli, who has had creative control of the character since the nineties, and Amazon, who thanks to the acquisition of the historic production company MGM today holds part of the rights to the franchise.

The reconstruction of Wall Street Journal is based on interviews with more than twenty people including Amazon executives, collaborators and friends of Broccoli's family. It shows the difficulties in combining a more traditional approach to cinema with that of the new entertainment industry, which is based on mechanisms such as algorithms and subscription systems based on audience preferences.

Barbara Broccoli is 64 years old and the daughter of film agent Albert Broccoli, who acquired the rights to adapt Fleming's books when she was recently born. Since his death in the mid-1990s, together with his half-brother Michael Wilson, he has produced all the James Bond films, financed and distributed by the production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The two are the owners of EON Productions, the company founded by their father in 1961: he mostly deals with business and is now 82 years old, while she famously has the final say on the plot and on everything Bond says and does, so as on who plays it.

With the acquisition of MGM, the second most expensive in Amazon's history, completed in 2022, things got complicated: Amazon obtained the rights to its catalogue, including the Bond films, which grossed the most at the cinema of 7.6 billion dollars; it then obtained 50 percent of the franchise, which remained with EON for the remaining half. This means that any proposal from the company must be approved by Wilson but above all by Broccoli, who according to what some friends have said would not want to entrust to logic based on algorithms a character that she herself contributed to making a myth.

Based on the testimonies collected, Broccoli defined Amazon executives as “fucking idiots”. She would have been very annoyed when the head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke, referred to James Bond as “content”; he would also have put aside the idea of ​​making a TV series, as well as spinoffs based on a female protagonist or on the secretary Miss Moneypenny, asking the company executives if they had read the contract. In the words of Wall Street Journal in short «Broccoli can hold Bond hostage for as long as he sees fit». A spokesperson for EON said neither she nor any other family members had any comment on the matter.

In a recent biography on Fleming, Broccoli called him “the quintessence of British heroism of the time” and claimed that thanks to him the United Kingdom “managed to extend its greatest period by sixty years”. In the past she had already rejected offers for themed video games and casinos, and according to people close to her she had resistance even before Amazon's acquisition of MGM: but then she did not oppose it, knowing that she would maintain control over the creative aspects .

Broccoli has since collaborated with Amazon on other projects, including the drama Till – A mother's courage (2022) and the upcoming remake of Citty Citty Bang Banga 1968 comedy starring Dick Van Dyke. As for a new Bond film, however, there is no script, no story, no new Bond, he recently commented. Despite periodic rumors, it is not known who will replace Craig, who played him in five films Casino Royale (2006) a No Time to Diethe last in the series, released in 2021 with a year and a half delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Broccoli's approach towards Amazon seems to be condensed in a phrase attributed to his father, who according to colleagues also repeats from time to time: “Don't allow people who don't last long to make permanent decisions.”

Before the acquisition, MGM executives had ensured that the Bond films would be released in theaters and not exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, as is often the case. However, a disagreement between Broccoli and Amazon would concern promotion. In fact, in 2023 Amazon produced 007: Road to a Milliona reality show with James Bond-inspired challenges that had been in the works since before. Broccoli would have liked a massive advertising campaign, like those organized for films, but this was not the case: the reality show was received in a lukewarm manner, and was talked about above all because Brian Cox, known for playing the founder of Successionsaid he agreed to present it because he was convinced he would star in a Bond film.

Then there is an even more important question, perhaps the most relevant, namely the choice of who plays James Bond. When Craig was chosen instead of Pierce Brosnan he was relatively unknown, plus he was criticized by many for being blond and with blue eyes, rather than brown. According to the Wall Street Journalfor Amazon the idea of ​​casting a non-famous actor for a similar role is difficult to accept, while for the family it would not be a problem.

Furthermore, until now Bond has always been played by a white man, and for some time the possibility of choosing a person of another ethnic group, perhaps non-heterosexual or even a woman, has been discussed. Wilson's son, Gregg, is also a production assistant on the Bond films, and according to some collaborators he would be in favor of renewing the character. In an interview given to the news agency in mid-November Associated Press Broccoli said that “probably” the next Bond will be “in his thirties” and “it's not a given that he will be white”. According to his collaborators, however, he believes that he should continue to be played by a man, who in any case should be English.

– Read also: How to choose a new James Bond