Bond 26 questions: MGM’s new owner edition

James Bond’s home studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, has a new owner, Amazon. The deal, under regulatory review for months, is now final.

You’d think this would have some effect on the Bond franchise. Naturally, the blog has questions.

What happens next? Now the real work begins.

How so? Eon Productions, which actually makes Bond films, has been publicly lobbying Amazon on a couple of fronts.

First, Eon’s Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have said repeatedly that Bond films need to debut in movie theaters. They don’t want Bond movies to be on streaming services (like Amazon’s) first.

Second, the Eon duo has spoken up in favor of two MGM film executives, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy. Broccoli and Wilson have said they want De Luca and Abdy to stay.

The thing is, anytime you have a major acquisition, there is almost always change, including executives. It remains to be seen if Amazon merges MGM into its Amazon Studios unit. The fate of current MGM executives, including De Luca and Abdy, is uncertain for now.

Something else? While Broccoli and Wilson have lobbied publicly, Amazon has stayed quiet. That makes sense while you’re an owner in waiting. Now, Amazon is the owner. With the acquisition complete, we’ll see what changes Amazon intends to make.

How might this affect Bond 26? It’s too early to tell. Eon doesn’t seem to be in a hurry. Eon has been engaged in a long goodbye with now-former Bond Daniel Craig. First, Eon boss Barbara Broccoli wanted to celebrate Craig’s long run as the British agent. Now, she’s producing a stage production with the actor.

By the time, Eon is ready to even think about Bond 26, Amazon may have implemented changes at MGM. As usual, we’ll see.

Amazon says it has completed MGM deal

Amazon said today in a short statement it has completed its acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, James Bond’s home studio.

“Amazon and MGM announced that MGM has joined Prime Video and Amazon Studios,” the statement read. “The storied, nearly century-old studio—with more than 4,000 film titles, 17,000 TV episodes, 180 Academy Awards, and 100 Emmy Awards—will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers.”

Earlier this week, Amazon received European Commission approval for its $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM. The figure includes assumption of MGM debt.

Amazon was waiting on a review by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. But the short announcement didn’t mention the FTC.

Bloomberg News said in a story today that a deadline for the U.S. agency to challenge the deal had passed with no FTC action.

Amazon announced the MGM deal last year. The studio was founded in 1924 with the merger of three companies. MGM has been involved with the Bond franchise since 1981, when it acquired United Artists.

MGM finances the Bond films produced by Eon Productions.