Opinion
Glimmer of hope for the James Bond franchise as Villeneuve steps in as director
by Luca Fontana
James Bond is in danger of turning into a soulless franchise
21.2.2025
Translation: Katherine Martin
James Bond, the British icon, is losing his creative home. Barbara Broccoli is handing creative control over 007 to Amazon, a streaming giant that produces content for algorithms. Is Bond facing his biggest identity crisis yet?
James Bond isn’t just the most famous secret agent in the world. He’s a legend. An institution as deeply rooted in the British psyche as the late Queen, afternoon tea and Mr. Bean. For decades, the balance between tradition and modernity was maintained by a single constant: the Broccoli family.
The legendary Albert «Cubby» Broccoli was the one who made James Bond a worldwide phenomenon in the 1960s. Now, the very thing that his daughter Barbara Broccoli has always wanted to prevent has happened.
A shock development.
A forced exit
There’s been disquiet behind the scenes of the franchise since the release of James Bond: No Time to Die. The trouble started almost four years ago when Amazon took over traditional studio MGM, allowing the e-commerce giant to secure numerous licences for films and TV shows. These included The Hobbit, Rocky, Creed – and James Bond.
That sounds more like bowing out silently than «voluntarily» handing over the reins.
This has ruffled my feathers a bit. Not because I’m worried Bond won’t survive under a US company. After all, «Cubby» Broccoli was American too. But he understood Bond. He never made the films look like Hollywood blockbusters, choosing instead to keep them as a British prestige project. His daughter, who grew up in England, then continued that tradition.
Whether Amazon will understand and respect that heritage seems doubtful, to say the least. There’s a danger that 007 will turn into an ultra-polished, data-driven Prime product driven by fleeting trends.
Looming loss of identity
Let’s see whether Amazon truly understands the product it’s got its hands on. James Bond isn’t just an action hero. He never was. Not even when he was «just» a character in Ian Fleming’s books. Fleming, himself a former intelligence officer in the British Royal Navy, always portrayed his agent as a projection of British strength at a time when the Empire was crumbling and Britain was forced to redefine its place in the world.
Bond is a relic of that era – a different time. And that’s exactly what his strength is. He’s been repeatedly reinvented, moving away from the «sexist, misogynist dinosaur» from the early films. But not just for nothing. Even Daniel Craig managed to bring an introspective, modern version of Bond to the silver screen without destroying his essence.
With creative control now in the hands of Amazon bigwigs, Bond’s in danger of losing the very identity that made him unique. Who knows? Maybe we’re just an Amazon press release away from Bond officially becoming the JBCU, the James Bond Cinematic Universe.
The Marvelisation of Bond
Are my concerns too far-fetched? I don’t think so. Marvel, too, was once the untouchable franchise par excellence. Today, the brand’s a shell of its former glory, as Disney’s gradually turned the Marvel Cinematic Universe into an assembly line product. There are too many films, too many series and too much irrelevant content designed to psyche audiences up for the next big event rather than tell good stories.
Bond might be facing the same fate. Rather than the triumphant end result of a years-long planning process, a Bond film might become just another brick in a wall of content.
Let’s face it, Amazon won’t just continue Bond. It’ll «optimise» Bond. At least, that’s what I think will happen. Optimisation in streaming terms means more content, more spin-offs and quantity over quality. Maybe there’ll be a Bond series about M or Q. Or perhaps a show revolving around the young Bond for the global streaming market. Maybe, since the «hard» Bond doesn’t do as well in some markets, there’ll be a lighter, family-friendly version.
If that happens, Bond won’t just be made for the silver screen. It’ll be made for the Prime home page and the Prime algorithm. The very thing Barbara Broccoli’s been protecting us from for years.
Header image: MGM / Amazon Prime Video
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
Movies and series
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
Opinion
This is a subjective opinion of the editorial team. It doesn't necessarily reflect the position of the company.
Show all
