Happy New Year! You would think things would be quiet on the James Bond front at least in early 2022. But there are signs things might not be that quiet.
Naturally, the blog has questions.
What’s the top priority for the Bond film franchise?
Seeing whether Amazon’s $8.45 billion acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is completed.
Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson of Eon Productions. have been lobbying on behalf of two current MGM film executives, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy. The fate of De Luca and Abdy likely won’t be known until Amazon finishes the deal.
What’s more, the Eon duo has repeatedly said they’re not interested in Bond streaming spinoffs.
Former Bond Daniel Craig joined in the public lobbying via an interview with The Sun.
Once Amazon takes possession of MGM, we go from hypothetical to the very real. Amazon runs Amazon Prime, one of the leading streaming services. It also has Amazon Studios. Does Amazon merge MGM into Amazon Studios? Or does Amazon maintain MGM as a separate operation like Marvel and Pixar at Walt Disney Co.?
Finally, the search for a new actor to replace Daniel Craig can’t really get very far until the issues above are addressed.
What happens if regulators don’t permit the Amazon acquisition to go through?
MGM possibly goes into crisis mode. Bond’s home studio had been working toward a sale for years. For MGM, everything goes back to square one. That type of uncertainty isn’t good for the orderly development of Bond 26.
What happens if the Amazon deal gets completed?
Wilson and Broccoli familiarize themselves, yet again, with a new set of executives. Eon has done this for 40 years, ever since MGM acquired United Artists, Bond’s original studio.
Much of the public lobbying Wilson and Broccoli have done is laying the groundwork for subsequent behind-closed-doors meetings. That’s where many issues will be hashed out.
Things like the 60th anniversary of the Bond film franchise will probably have to wait.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Amazon, Barbara Broccoli, Bond 26, Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Michael G. Wilson | Leave a comment »
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