A few months ago, still at the end of 2024, the pressure behind the scenes about the future of James Bond grew so much that several points of tension from the fights between the producer, Barbara Broccoli, and Amazon Prime Video, which after having bought MGM and changed the name of the platform to MGM-Amazon Prime, leaked.

For 60 years, James Bond was distributed worldwide by MGM and it was with an eye on this brand, not on the collection of classics, that Amazon Prime Video paid out more than 6.5 billion dollars to buy everything. But they came up against the creative control of the zealous Barbara Broccoli, who until today, February 20, 2025, had the first and final say on everything.

This zeal is insinuated as the reason for the long delay in announcing Daniel Craig‘s replacement and now I particularly see with different eyes the approved decision to “kill” the spy so spectacularly in his last film. Barbara was already suffering from all the cultural changes to keep Bond relevant and uncancellable, but she was against the wave of spin-offs and adaptations that Amazon wanted for the character.

The alternative? Do what Disney did with George Lucas to be able to “monetize” Star Wars: pay to take away creative control of the brand. It worked. From 2025 onwards, the platform has the license to kill, I mean, do whatever it wants with 007. A prospect that is more frightening than hopeful. Although Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli remain co-owners, they no longer decide what is most important, giving up creative control and the intellectual property rights of the James Bond franchise.

There were 25 films and great successes, some failures, but a unique journey with a character who came out of the pages of Ian Fleming‘s novels and became a pop icon. The last film, which was finished before 2020, only hit theaters in 2022. Since then, the classic game of “Who will be the new James Bond” has only gained momentum. From the list of possible candidates, the clear favorite at the moment is Harry Dickinson, starring alongside Nicole Kidman in Babygirl. At under 30, he would bring the youth that has been announced for so long to the role, one of the changes that should be implemented when Bond returns to theaters.

Wilson and Barbara said that they would dedicate themselves “to other projects” and Daniel Craig praised them, speaking of a welcome retirement for both of them. At Amazon, the frustration of the “less is more” strategy, meant that many years passed between one film and the next, in addition to no spin-offs being made. That will change in the blink of an eye. And James Bond now stands alongside the famous brands that Amazon has secured, including Reacher, The Lord of the Rings and Jack Ryan, among them.

That is why the announcement symbolizes the end of an era, literally. It remains to be seen whether the new cycle will be able to maintain the essence of the iconic British spy or whether the pressure for innovation will dilute the legacy that, for more than 60 years, made Bond one of the most beloved characters in cinema. With the arrival of a new 007, the answer to that question is closer than ever – and promises to change forever the trajectory of the most famous secret agent in the world.

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