The James Bond franchise is setting up for a new era at its new home, Amazon MGM Studios. To succeed beyond Bond 26, the next iteration of the franchise must do something they failed to do in the last two eras. While there have been many James Bond actors over the years, the franchise is coming off of a strong high after Daniel Craig’s tenure in the role. Still, there was a glaring issue with his overall time as Bond, just like with Pierce Brosnan before him, that must be avoided in the future.

James Bond as a franchise has had many ups and downs over the years. Every actor save one has played the character in multiple films, and many have starred in both the worst and the best James Bond films. Grown out of the general premise of an MI6 superspy fighting against international crime, much of the original texture of the Ian Fleming novels has been lost. There is hope that the new era of the franchise, which has many rumored candidates for the lead, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Bond, will be able to find a unique yet faithful tone.

Pierce Brosnan & Daniel Craig’s First Bond Movies Were Their Best

Most Audiences Agree That Goldeneye And Casino Royale Were The Strongest Of Each Respective Run

Arguably, the first James Bond movies starring Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig — Goldeneye and Casino Royale, respectively — were the best Bond films that each actor made. While many, including this author, might disagree about Casino Royale, seeing James Bond’s journey in Skyfall as the best story for Craig’s iteration of the hero, audience reception, in general, would disagree. Both critics and audiences gave Casino Royale the highest ratings for Craig’s Bond, and even if Skyfall was a bigger financial hit, many look back at his debut movie as one of the best Bond films of all time.

Brosnan’s Goldeneye, however, is even clearer on this front. While the film was celebrated and lauded, bringing the franchise into a new, blockbuster modern era after the excellent but darker turn of Timothy Dalton’s Bond, Brosnan’s subsequent films all failed to live up to the quality of his debut. While The World is Not Enough was liked by some, Tomorrow Never Dies and especially Die Another Day were considered misses for the franchise overall. Disappointingly, then, it would appear that both of these Bonds peaked in their first appearances.

For James Bond’s Future As A Franchise, The New Actor Must Avoid Peaking In Their Debut

The Next James Bond Will Need To Grow And Evolve Throughout The Series

The next era of the James Bond franchise does need to start with a great film to renew interest in the series. However, once that is done, the series will need to retain and even elevate that level of quality if Amazon wishes to build a sustainable franchise. With a greater eye to the larger series, rather than approaching each film individually, there should be some room for the characters to grow and to tell larger stories against a backdrop that can become familiar and loved by audiences.

Sean Connery’s Bond films might be a good template for this. While the actor started on a smaller scale in the very strong Dr. No, it was his second appearance as the character in From Russia With Love that allowed the series to grow and evolve. The tone in From Russia With Love was balanced, and it brought in so many details that would go on to become hallmarks of the series, including Q’s gadgets, real-world paranoia, and excellent humor. This was iterated upon even further in the progressing films, with many considering Goldfinger to be the best of Connery’s run.

Looking back, it is much easier to organize and understand the different eras of James Bond. Some details worked, and there were times when the envelope was pushed too far. While in the Roger Moore Bond films, the actor’s debonair wit and style were effective components of films like The Spy Who Loved Me, they often veered too far into camp as the series progressed. By leaning too hard into the things that worked, films like A View to a Kill felt tired and overdone by the time they were released.

It is not easy to build an enormous franchise, and the way this is done has changed significantly in recent years. Rather than approaching the new James Bond on a film-by-film basis, there is the potential to build a larger product out of it that Amazon surely wishes for. Whoever they cast in the role of Bond, whether Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, or anybody else, the difficult task will be to make strong films that also contribute to the strength of the series overall.

Amazon’s Control Of James Bond May Complicate The “First Movie” Debate

The Future Of Bond May Look Very Different From Previous Eras

While there has been much discussion about the future of the movie franchise, it is notable that James Bond is now under the control of Amazon MGM, and the studio is rumored to have bigger plans for the series. The conversation around the franchise suggested that Barbara Broccoli eventually gave up the rights after a stalemate between parties, with Broccoli wishing to keep the Bond franchise entirely theatrical, while Amazon wished to make it more akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with interconnected shows and movies. If this occurs, the next era of Bond will be difficult to ᴀssess.

The first step to evolving the franchise occurred earlier this week. Interestingly, the new James Bond video game 007 First Light carries Amazon’s name in its opening credits, and shows a new iteration of Bond that aligns closely with the Ian Fleming novels. In Casino Royale, Fleming even wrote that Bond has “a three-inch scar showing whitely down the sunburned skin of the right cheek.” While no live-action Bonds have had this physical marker, it is evident in the footage for the new video game, suggesting the path Amazon may also be following with their next film.

How James Bond becomes a larger, more interconnected franchise is difficult to know at this time. There is some speculation that Prime Video may produce programs starring characters like Moneypenny or M, in addition to theatrical films. Building a larger world like this would change the foundations of the franchise and make it that much harder to discuss as one distinct enтιтy. Some pieces will work, and others will not, culminating in an era of James Bond that is much harder to ᴀssess so simply.

The future of James Bond will surely be made known sometime soon. Amazon seems to care about the franchise, and even if there are worries about its direction without the Broccoli family involved, there will certainly be some good to come out of whatever changes the new studio makes to the property. With a new actor yet to be confirmed and plans yet to be announced, Bond 26 can hopefully be a very special movie. However, it is just as important that the franchise will grow from there, and become even better over time.