Amazon paid more than €1bn for creative control of James Bond franchise
Daniel Craig, the most recent actor to play Bond, offered his congratulations to longtime stewards of the Bond films Barbara Broccoli and Michael J Wilson on Friday.
Amazon paid more than $1bn for “creative control” of the James Bond franchise.
Amazon MGM Studios said it had struck a deal with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, the British-American heirs to the film producer Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli and longtime stewards of the Bond films.
The world’s second largest corporation by revenue confirmed it had formed a joint venture with the duo to house the James Bond intellectual property, with Amazon assuming “creative control”.
Amazon said the financial terms were for its eyes only, but it is understood control of 007 was ceded for about $1bn, a figure first reported by the US Hollywood news outlet .
Daniel Craig, the most recent actor to play Bond, offered his congratulations to Broccoli and Wilson on Friday. Mr Craig, who first appeared in in 2006, said: “My respect, admiration and love for Barbara and Michael remain constant and undiminished.
“I wish Michael a long, relaxing (and well-deserved) retirement, and whatever ventures Barbara goes on to do, I know they will be spectacular and I hope I can be part of them.”
With creative control, Amazon will have the power to move forward with new films and potentially TV spin-offs too, without approval from Mr Wilson and Ms Broccoli, who have overseen the integrity of the character originally created in 1953 by the author Ian Fleming.
It has been four years since the 2021 release of , and with no new Bond film in production, the current hiatus is on course to become 007’s longest ever holiday.
