James Bond’s movie empire is now under the control of Amazon, a development that has major implications for its future. For the first time since the franchise’s inception, members of the Broccoli, whose company Eon Productions was founded to bring Bond to the big screen, won’t have the decisive say over what happens to the character and his next movie.
Amazon has acquired the controlling interest in the James Bond franchise through their subsidiary Amazon MGM Studios, following an agreement with Eon founder Albert “Cubby” Broccoli’s daughter and stepson, longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Broccoli and Wilson will retain partial ownership of the intellectual property related to Bond, but won’t ultimately have any deciding vote over what happens to it. Amazon was already the sole owner of the franchise’s distribution rights, following its acquisition of MGM Holdings in 2021. Now, the tech behemoth will be able to decide on what James Bond is produced, as well as how it’s distributed.
James Bond Movie Rights’ History & Different Owners Explained
Eon Have Held The Intellectual Property Rights For 007 Since 1961
In 1961, American movie producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli met Harry Saltzman, an up-and-coming producer from Canada with a background in theater. Broccoli had been trying to get his hands on the rights to make a movie series out of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels for the past two years. It just so happened that Saltzman had bought the rights from Fleming for $50,000, or just over $500,000 in today’s money (via Encyclopedia.com). Together they formed Eon Productions, specifically with the aim of financing the first Bond movie, Dr. No.
From that moment on until this latest announcement, Eon had exclusive creative control over every adaptation of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels except two. The first was Casino Royale, the movie rights for which the US broadcaster CBS had already bought from Fleming in 1953. This anomaly explains why there have been three different versions of Casino Royale, beginning with CBS’ own TV movie in 1954.
The second Bond novel which Eon didn’t own exclusive rights for was Thunderball, which was subject to a copyright suit after Fleming borrowed its storyline from an unused movie script he’d written but didn’t own. The settlement of this suit allowed Kevin McClory, the producer who’d commissioned the unused script from Fleming, to retain the rights to Thunderball’s story, and license them for use in the 1983 Bond movie Never Say Never Again. This movie remains the only serious James Bond cinematic release not produced by Eon.
Who Currently Owns The Rights To James Bond Movies & TV Shows
Amazon MGM Studios Have Taken It All
Amazon’s deal with Eon heads Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson means that Amazon MGM Studios and Eon Productions now co-own the intellectual property related to the James Bond film franchise. However, it’s Amazon MGM Studios who now have the controlling interest, and both parties have been very specific in their statements that this interest means Amazon MGM will now “lead” the production of James Bond media.
At the same time, Amazon owns the worldwide distribution rights for movies and TV shows related to Fleming’s Bond novels. When Amazon bought MGM Holdings in 2021, this purchase included MGM Home Entertainment, the sole owner of the distribution rights for James Bond media. MGM had acquired these rights upon absorbing the original distributor of the Bond movies, United Artists, in 1981. When Sony Pictures shared the distribution rights to every movie between 2006’s Casino Royale and 2015’s Spectre, they were simply leasing a share of these rights from MGM.
MGM also acquired Kevin McClory’s estate, which included the movie and TV rights to Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel Thunderball. alongside Danjaq LLC in 2013.
Because Amazon now owns MGM and has taken over creative control of the series from Eon Productions, they own all Bond-related media rights. They even own the rights to Casino Royale, which MGM obtained in 1999 via a lawsuit with CBS’ parent company Sony.
Why Amazon MGM Studios Now Has Creative Control & What That Means
Eon Heads Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson Have Handed Over The Reins
It seems that Amazon MGM Studios has been able to cut a deal with Eon to take creative control of the James Bond franchise following Michael G. Wilson’s decision to take a step back from work on the Bond movies. Barbara Broccoli alluded to this fact in her statement about the deal, explaining, “With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.”
It could be that without her step-brother and long-term production partner to back her up, Barbara Broccoli has come under pressure from Amazon MGM to relinquish her control over the future of the 007 franchise. Recent reports suggest Broccoli has been involved in a dispute over the next James Bond movie’s villain. Whether she wanted to or not, however, Broccoli has now relented, meaning that the studio and their parent company Amazon will be able to dictate how and when James Bond-related media is made and released from this moment on.
What Amazon MGM Having Creative Control Of James Bond Means
The 007 Franchise Is About To Enter The Streaming Age In A Big Way
There’s already a hint as to what Amazon having creative control over the James Bond franchise could mean for its future, in the statement about this deal from MGM Studios boss Mike Hopkins. He describes Amazon as “ushering in the next phase” of 007, which is especially fitting for someone who also leads Amazon’s Prime Video division. The company will look to get more bang for its buck when it comes to Bond than Eon could ever manage, meaning that we’re likely to see the iconic MI6 agent return in multiple content formats from now on.
If there’s no new James Bond movie in 2026, it’ll be the joint-longest wait for a new release in the history of the franchise.
Barbara Broccoli has apparently been weary for some time of Amazon treating James Bond as “content” rather than a cinematic insтιтution. It’s reasonable to ᴀssume there’ll be franchise spinoffs and Bond-centered streaming series on the way, as the silver screen’s longest-running franchise aims to compete with compeтιтors such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars. Whatever formats Amazon MGM go with, one thing’s for sure: it’ll be on Prime Video.
