James Bond Was a Family Business to the Broccolis. Will He Be More Than Just IP to Jeff Bezos?
When Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson ceded all creative control of James Bond to Amazon MGM Studios, eras ended.
Half-siblings Broccoli and Wilson had extraordinary control over the Bond franchise, personally steering the films after they inherited the company EON Productions from Broccoli’s father and Wilson’s stepfather, Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli in 1995. More than any director, they were the arbiters of “what is a James Bond film,” navigating Bond’s post-Cold War reinvention with Pierce Brosnan in the ’90s and selecting Daniel Craig as his replacement in 2005.
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Reports in Deadline on February 20 say that Amazon bought out the pair for $1 billion (cue Dr. No: “One billion dollars, Mr. Bond! You were wondering what it costs?”) — but that the vibe in Broccoli and Wilson’s orbit is “of a death in the family.”
Not long ago, a Bond fan might expect a 007 film to feature a Jeff Bezos-style villain. He shares a bald pate with Blofeld, as well as his own personal rocket fleet. Now, he holds the keys to Bond and aside from the possibility that Josh O’Connor, star of Amazon MGM Studios’ best film to date, “Challengers,” could don Bond’s tux, fan reaction — including this one — is mixed.
“R.I.P. James Bond Franchise 1962-2025” was social media’s meme du jour. Yes, there’s the possibility of more Bond projects than ever. But at what cost?
Disney not only exhausted the creative possibilities of Marvel and “Star Wars,” it also exhausted the fans. It’s hard not to think that Bond has sold out to Spectre, another IP to be mined by covetousness worthy of Auric Goldfinger.
For Broccoli and Wilson, Bond was more than IP; it was a legacy. With Bond as a family business, their relationship to the world’s most famous spy was personal.
There are many ways that Amazon MGM Studios could shape where the movies go from here; some are genuinely exciting. But above all, this means:
It’s the End of a Major Family-Run Movie Franchise
Maybe the only family-run movie franchise, depending on how you define them. Father-son producing team Alexander and Ilya Salkind steered the Christopher Reeve “Superman” movies, but only over a few years. Before the sale of Lucasfilm in 2012, George Lucas had a personal say on most matters related to the “Star Wars” franchise.
However, it’s hard to compare the level of control the Broccoli family had over 25 films. Wilson had cameos in every EON Productions Bond movie since 1977. Fans may especially remember him as the corrupt police superintendent that Giancarlo Giannini’s Mathis has arrested in “Casino Royale,” but his first was in 1964’s “Goldfinger” as a soldier.
Broccoli was a teenager when she first worked on Bond as an uncredited assistant in the PR department for 1977’s “The Spy Who Loved Me.” For “Moonraker” and “Octopussy,” she was an assistant director (still uncredited). Finally in 1985 she was a full “additional assistant director” on “A View to a Kill” (Roger Moore’s last 007 film, and highly underrated). She was associate producer on Timothy Dalton’s two 007 films, “The Living Daylights” and “Licence to Kill” (note the British spelling). When her father retired following that 1989 film, she became a Bond producer with 1995’s “GoldenEye.”
Wilson and the Broccolis formed close friendships with the actors who played Bond. There’s a legendary, maybe apocryphal, story that Sean Connery met Daniel Craig around 2005 at the EON offices at Pinewood Studios, when Connery returned for a haircut. The title for 2021’s “No Time to Die” was also the title of one of Albert Broccoli’s early producing efforts, the 1958 war film “No Time to Die.” That was written by Richard Maibaum and directed by Terence Young, who became the first Bond writer and director in 1962 with “Dr. No.” Those personal touches carried beyond Bond: Broccoli produced Daniel Craig’s “Othello” and “Macbeth” productions on Broadway.
There are many credited Bond directors, but when I wrote an open letter suggesting that Pierce Brosnan return for a one-off “older Bond” adventure opposite a returning Michelle Yeoh, I addressed it to Broccoli as the franchise auteur. Another way to look at it: Irving Kirshner and Maibaum were the credited directors on “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” but we still knew it was Lucas.
On Broccoli and Wilson’s watch, each Bond film was a bespoke product of a family business. It’s possible (likely) that this limited the potential for new takes on Bond. Now, with Amazon MGM Studios in control, that could mean:
The Potential for Big Creative Swings — and Auteurs — Goes Up
Bond is (in)famous for its resistance to outside-the-box visions. When EON Productions turned down Steven Spielberg to direct a Bond movie in the late ’70s, he made “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (at Lucas’ urging) instead. Quentin Tarantino wanted to make “Casino Royale” as a 1960s period piece that aligned with the aesthetic of the original Connery films; Broccoli and Wilson rejected the idea. “Spectre” and “Skyfall” director Sam Mendes was outspoken about his lack of creative control, saying the producers want “controllable directors.” We know whatever Danny Boyle pitched was shot down as well.
Could a period version of Bond happen now? Possibly. Something totally different that we’ve never seen before? Entirely likely. Could Christopher Nolan finally live his childhood dream of directing a Bond movie? As much as he drew inspiration for the opening of “The Dark Knight Rises” from the pre-credits scene in “Licence to Kill,” he’s the kind of auteur who would probably have bristled under Broccoli and Wilson’s vision.
There is an unfortunate flipside, though:
Bond Could Receive Questionable Franchise Extensions
That’s been the fear since Amazon acquired MGM in 2020. We’ve already seen one example with Amazon’s poorly received 2023 reality competition series, “007: Road to a Million,” hosted by “Succession” star Brian Cox. Brilliant UK TV professional Aaron McGahon imagined Broccoli and Wilson presenting a Marvel Studios-style overload of spinoffs: “The Moneypenny Mysteries,” “Felix Leiter,” “Universal Exports” (presumably focusing solely on the employees of Bond’s “cover company”), and, of course, “J.W. Pepper.” I might even watch some of these. (Not “J.W. Pepper.”)
Broccoli and Wilson’s family business centered on quality over quantity above all other considerations — even at the risk of narrowing ideas of what a Bond film could be (and that approach didn’t prevent a bunch of stinkers). However, almost every Bond movie feels like it’s made by a human being. Even the Venetian pigeon that gives a double-take in “Moonraker” is the kind of oddball, possibly godawful nonsense that could never be crowdsourced. Today, Jeff Bezos asked his followers who they’d like to see as the next Bond. Creative choices by anonymous social media users — so far, not a path to artistic triumph.
Like Disney and Marvel before it, will Amazon strip-mine every aspect of Bond IP? A five-year or more wait between movies is ultimately far more desirable than five spinoffs in a year. Even Marvel, the studio that defined the “more is more” ethos has backtracked, most recently pausing three shows in development. Bond thrived under Broccoli and Wilson’s “less is more” approach. As to whether that will be abandoned — well, if there’s a thread through every James Bond movie, it’s the power of greed.
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