There’s Still Time for James Bond to Die

Sean Connery as James Bond in 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever." Photo by Rob Mieremet on OpenVerse

You only live twice, and James Bond is already on his second life after over 50 years in the film industry.

On Feb. 20, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson sold the rights and creative control of James Bond to Amazon MGM Studios. The pair has helmed the franchise since the 1996 death of their father, Albert R. Broccoli, who first bought the filming rights to Ian Fleming’s novels. 

After 64 years under the watchful eyes of the Broccoli family and their company, Eon Productions, the martini-loving spy will soon be reborn in Amazon’s image. The question remained: Why did Broccoli and Wilson suspend his license to kill?

The business venture came as a shock to many, both inside and outside the industry, as Broccoli and Wilson have previously been steadfast in protecting the creative integrity of 007. While most of their efforts have been admirable, preventing spin-off movies or television shows, they have received some criticism regarding their strict guidelines. 

In 2020, Broccoli turned down director Christopher Nolan’s interest in the franchise by denying him full creative control over the film. 

The reasoning behind Broccoli's choice to step down remains a mystery, though many publications like The Hollywood Reporter have posited their theories. The main impression on the public’s mind is that Broccoli and Wilson, already fatigued by a lengthy career as Bond’s guardians, were unable to negotiate with Amazon executives after their previous home, MGM Studios, was acquired by the mega-corporation. 

Broccoli and Wilson are both industry veterans with large fortunes to fall back on. They were no longer dependent on the franchise to bring in revenue and likely had aspirations to retire. In turn, they cashed out, leaving their father’s legacy in the dust with Jeff Bezos.

“With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects,” said Wilson in a statement posted by Amazon. “Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future.”

Amazon spent $1 billion to take over Broccoli and Wilson’s creative control. With this authority, they not only have exclusive rights to produce James Bond films but can use other Fleming characters from the series, such as M or Q, for their own movies and shows. Amazon intends to expand the James Bond franchise in a manner akin to current industry superpowers Lucasfilm and Marvel. 

Opinions have been mixed about Amazon’s pursuit of an “international theatrical distribution arm” to dominate the worldwide film market. Marist University students have expressed concerns over what this means for the industry as a whole.

“I feel weirded out, I guess,” said Grayce Journick ‘27. “I feel like creating stuff should be left to creatives and not major corporations. I’m not sure if there’s good intentions there.”

“I don’t know that much about James Bond, but obviously that's a very big character and series,” said William Silkowitz ‘27. “I think that if it continues where corporations are buying up really big characters and storylines, it could end up with corporations having control of everything.”

CEO Jeff Bezos has already begun to consider the next steps for the franchise, posting on social media platforms Instagram and X: “Who’d you want to see as the next James Bond?” 

“It’s how a monopoly starts. All these bigger companies are buying up the smaller ones. I just don’t understand how there’s not regulations on that sort of thing,” Jasmin Arias ‘27 said.

While responses varied, the Internet showed support for former Superman actor Henry Cavill. 

Cavill previously auditioned for the role during the search for 2006’s newest Bond. While the role ultimately went to Daniel Craig, “Casino Royale” director Martin Campbell cited Cavill as a runner-up, stating, “If Daniel didn’t exist, Henry would have made an excellent Bond,” in an interview with Express.

Whether this pick is reflected in the Marist population is debatable. While a few students have expressed support for Cavill like Journick, stating he “sounds like an interesting choice” for the role, others have not been so enthusiastic.

Three sophomores all preferred different front-runners for the role. Isabella Loiacono ‘27 vouched for “The White Lotus” star Theo James, while Sophia Carroll ‘27 campaigned for “Barbie’s” Kingsley Ben-Adir. Arias was particularly vocal in her support for Aaron Taylor-Johnson, one of the most popular picks for Bond, as “he has experience being a superhero, and I think he would eat it up.”

The “Kickass” and “Nosferatu” star is one of the many actors in talks to play 007 alongside Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson and Tom Hardy, as reported by the BBC.

Silkowitz was starkly opposed to Cavill, along with any other big-name actors. “There’s too many of the same people in the film industry. They need to find new actors. I understand that people are drawn to actors they know, but I miss when some random person would be a main character. You didn’t know who they were, and you really discovered them through that movie.”

Film history lecturer Max Alvarez echoed this sentiment in an interview with Variety, in which he stated: “We tend to forget that all the Bonds were not big stars in films when they were hired for the role. Hire a comparatively unfamiliar face to grow into the part and to become well-known in the role. It seems to have worked in the past.”

Based on Amazon’s intention to maximize profits with the acquisition of Bond, it’s unlikely they’ll prioritize unknown actors in the pursuit of quality over Cavill or any other big name. Instead, the public has questioned if they will pander to younger or more diverse audiences. 

Barbara Broccoli, while explicitly open to having a non-white James Bond, still held restrictions on who could hold the golden gun. She rejected the notion of a female Bond, as she was “not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.” 

This sentiment has been echoed by other actresses like Jenna Ortega as well as Marist students.

“While the idea for a female Bond is intriguing, I don’t feel like it would really do anything for women’s rights or being progressive,” Journick said.

“Women deserve their own stories and not just to be represented through previously male characters. It’s more important to create female characters that people are drawn to rather than just to convert a male character into a female one,” Silkowitz said. “It could go either way because having representation and any sort of inclusion is important. But I do agree with [Broccoli’s] sentiment overall.”

As for diversity, there have been previous discussions of a non-white Bond, with the consideration of Idris Elba taking over the title from Craig in 2023. However, the actor received “disgusting and off-putting” racist remarks that ultimately killed the little interest he had in the project. 

Throughout interviews with Marist students about their interest in the new era of Bond, one thing became abundantly clear: most young adults have little interest in the Bond franchise.

“I do not think we need another James Bond. I don’t care to see any more James Bond stories,” said Carroll. “There are so many other avenues and characters that can be made into media. We do not need to keep rehashing the same thing. I feel like, lately, there’s been this Hollywood obsession with reinventing old IP. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just create something new.”

“I think James Bond is overdone. I hope this new ownership makes it new again, reinvents it and makes it fresh, so it’s interesting for younger generations,” said Journick.

Whether Amazon can pull off a successful reinvention of 007 is still up for debate. However, Bond won’t be exclusively in Bezos’s hands for long. In 2035, the James Bond franchise will be one of the many properties to enter the public domain. Directors like Nolan will be free to interpret the MI6 agent, free from the likes of Amazon or the Broccoli family. While this opens avenues for even more creatives to breathe new life into the source material, it only puts the IP in further danger of being mishandled and abused.

Only time will tell what the future holds for the iconic spy franchise, but one thing remains certain: We haven’t seen the last of James Bond.