James Bond is about to get a makeover, now that control of the movie franchise is out of the hands of Eon Productions and firmly in the grip of Amazon MGM Studios. Given what we know about Amazon’s approach to its other franchises, a lot more Bond content should be coming to Prime Video in the coming years. The tech giant’s plans for 007 will surely include spinoff media, with a preexisting novel series by Charlie Higson providing ready-made storylines for one particular TV show idea.
Amazon took creative control of the James Bond franchise, soon after disagreements between the company and previous Eon Productions head Barbara Broccoli over future plans for the character were reported. Broccoli was said to be unhappy with Amazon’s perception of the franchise her father Albert “Cubby” Broccoli had developed as a source of “content”. The nature of this disagreement indicates the direction that Amazon is about to go in with James Bond. We’re going to see other forms of 007 media outside the traditional Bond films, one of which is likely to be Young Bond.
Charlie Higson’s Young Bond Could Be Coming To Prime Video
The Novel Series Seems Ready-Made For An Onscreen Spinoff Show
Young Bond is a series of 10 young adult novels about James Bond as a teenage boy, created by English writer Charlie Higson, and authored by Higson and Steve Cole. The series serves as a prequel to Ian Fleming’s main James Bond novels, filling some of the gaps about the character’s earlier life that have often been the subject of speculation.
One key demographic for the James Bond movie series is teenagers – and teenage boys in particular. The Young Bond stories provide the perfect subject matter for Amazon MGM to hone in on this section of their audience. If they produce a streaming adaptation of Higson’s novels for Prime Video, teen fans of the franchise will be able to relate James Bond’s experiences to their own for the first time. Lucasfilm has already provided the blueprint for this type of spinoff via its TV show The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which had considerable success on ABC in the early 1990s.
The Series Portrays A Teenage James Bond At School In The 1930s
He Attends Eton College, But Also Goes On Adventures Around The World
James Bond famously attended Britain’s most prestigious boarding school, Eton College, which counts several Prime Ministers among its alumni as well as Bond author Ian Fleming. Eton is the setting for much of Young Bond, which begins in 1933 with its protagonist newly enrolled in the school at 13 years old.
During the series, he uncovers a secret Roman society, encounters Russian scientists trying to build a computer, follows a group of robbers to a Caribbean island, and even has time for an illicit romance.
Of course, James Bond is bound to escape the confines of his school, however young he may be. During the series, he uncovers a secret Roman society, encounters Russian scientists trying to build a computer, follows a group of robbers to a Caribbean island, and even has time for an illicit romance. There is enormous potential for Amazon MGM Studios to produce an epic adventure series for teens and pre-teens based on this source material.
Why Young Bond Deserves A Screen Adaptation
It Would Give 007 Fans The Origin Story They Crave
Young Bond would provide the onscreen James Bond origin story that fans of 007 have been craving for generations. The prequel series would show a more fallible and immature version of the character, before he became a professional agent for Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and was still a temperamental young boy. It would also explain how he developed his talent for death-defying stunts, and picked up the extraordinary skills required to become the most celebrated operative at MI6.
However, the other side to portraying Bond’s origin story is that it would remove the veil of mystery from the character. Part of the character’s appeal is that his whole life is shrouded in secrecy. Not only is being undercover a key aspect of his day job, but from the very beginning of the movie franchise it appears to be a way of life for him. He has no real past to speak of, which gives the impression that he’s untouchable, without vulnerabilities or traumas from his past.
Nevertheless, Daniel Craig’s iteration of James Bond traded on more ambiguous, contradictory and human elements to his persona. It was an unprecedented hit with audiences, suggesting that Young Bond should lean into its teenage hero’s shortcomings, and portray the mistakes he made on the way to becoming a double-o with a license to kill.
