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.