A former Bond girl is leading the backlash against Amazon after it gained ‘creative control’ of the iconic 007 British franchise.
Valerie Leon, who starred in the Spy Who Loved Me and Never Say Never Again alongside Roger Moore and Sean Connery, has hit out that the handover to the American owned company means James Bond just ‘won’t be British anymore’.
The franchise will no longer be in the hands of longtime producers Barbara Brocolli and Michael G Wilson, the daughter and stepson of Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli who launched the British spy franchise in 1962.
The pair are stepping down after 30-years at the helm, although they will remain co-owners of 007 intellectual property rights, new owners Amazon MGM Studios, will now have full creative control.
On Good Morning Britain today Valerie said: ‘The Bond franchise was very British and it won’t be anymore.
‘And obviously if they make films they won’t go into the cinema. Everything is so changed now, it just won’t be the same and I’m very old-fashioned anyway.’
Fans have also weighed in online to share their fears of Bond going the way of other iconic franchises that have been bought out by entertainment giants.
In 2012, Disney acquired Star Wars owner LucasFilm for £3.2billion and have since launched a raft of new origins movies, series, and animated spin-offs.
It will potentially allow much-loved Bond characters like Q, the quartermaster of MI6 who furnishes 007 with his gadgets, Moneypenny, Bond’s secretary, and M, the head of MI6 and Bond’s boss to have their own series.
One user in mourning for 007 made his feelings clear: ‘RIP James Bond. Amazon will destroy a great franchise, like Disney have destroyed Star Wars.’
Another X user, Mike Beauvais, suggested that the Amazon takeover would lead to a loss in quality control and an endless stream of sequels.
He wrote: ‘We used to get a (generally) good James Bond movie, but that’s out of the window now.
‘Get ready for Young Q and 00 Origins: Trevelyan and other unwatchable Amazon Prime slop going forward.’
A third X user, Joe Russo, said: ‘It’s kinda sad to see the last family-owned movie franchise handed over to the suits, and I’m sure Amazon MGM is salivating, BUT…
‘DON’T cinematic universe James Bond. It is one of our last, great theatrical events. Don’t dilute that with a plethora of streaming spin-offs.’
Others fans fear the show it could go the way of Doctor Who, whose global distribution rights were bought by Disney in 2022 – and which has been criticised for increasingly woke storylines.
Broccoli has been viewed as a guardian of her father’s legacy and has dismissed the suggestion of woke changes in the past, such as the prospect of a female Bond.
‘Bond is male,’ she said in 2018. ‘He’s a male character. He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male.
‘And that’s fine. We don’t have to turn male characters into women. Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.’
Some fans highlighted Amazon’s takeover of the Lord of the Rings franchise, which has been marred by criticism for their series featuring a diverse cast of non-white and female characters which fans say does not remain faithful to JRR Tolkien’s source material.
Other 007 obsessives jokingly compared the secret agent’s supposed death in the latest film No Time To Die to the death of the franchise under Amazon.
Paul F wrote: ‘James Bond dies in his latest movie: ‘Nah, Bond isn’t really dead.’
‘Amazing gains ownership of James Bond: ‘Okay, now James Bond is really dead.”
Another X poster, Alex McReply, said: ‘James Bond the character gets blown into a million pieces to save his child, James Bond the franchise gets blown up into a million pieces to give Amazon content. It’s like poetry, they rhyme.’
Amazon’s acquisition follows months of speculation that there were creative tensions at the top of the Bond franchise with Amazon and the Broccoli’s failing to agree on how to move forward with the movies four years after Daniel Craig’s last outing as Bond in No Time to Die.
It was reported that Barbara Broccoli, 64, had told friends that she did not trust the online giant with the character and had characterized the status of the next Bond instalment in dire terms: no script, no story and no new Bond.
In December, the Wall Street Journal said that Broccoli had characterized to friends her thoughts on Amazon this way: ‘These people are f***ing idiots.’
Yesterday Broccoli and Wilson, 83, announced a new Amazon deal forming a new joint venture to house the movie property’s intellectual property rights.
But crucially giving Amazon creative control of the James Bond franchise following closing of the transaction.
Since the MGM acquisition for £5 billion in 2022, Amazon has held rights to distribute all of the James Bond films, and MGM’s vast catalogue with more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows.
Yet the family and the online giant, found by Jeff Bezos, could not agree on how best to move the iconic spy story forward.
Never have one family had such control over a movie franchise, and insiders said their 20th-century Hollywood vision on the big screen clashed with the technology giant’s vision led by data, algorithm and streaming subscriptions.
Announcing his departure yesterday, Mr Wilson said: ‘With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects.
‘Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future.’
Ms Broccoli, 64, added: ‘My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli.’
‘I have had the honour of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry.’
‘With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.’
Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios said in a statement: ‘We are grateful to the late Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman for bringing James Bond to movie theatres around the world, and to Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for their unyielding dedication and their role in continuing the legacy of the franchise that is cherished by legions of fans worldwide.’
‘We are honoured to continue this treasured heritage, and look forward to ushering in the next phase of the legendary 007 for audiences around the world.’