As for what Amazon’s purchase of MGM means for the James Bond series, well, I don’t know what the 007 series looks like after Daniel Craig ends his five-movie run.
Daniel Craig will be leaving the James Bond series on an all-time high, but an uncertain post-Craig future means that the 007 series can’t alone justify Amazon’s purchase of MGM. We got word this morning that Amazon will be purchasing MGM for $8.45 billion. That’s the end of an era, namely the era (going back as far as I can remember paying attention to these things) of MGM trying to get sold or struggling with imminent financial peril. I would argue that MGM is not remotely worth $8.5 billion, both because the studio hasn’t exactly been knocking out hits outside of the James Bond series since… as far back as I can remember paying attention to this stuff and because the notion of diving into the existing IP and rebooting/reviving anything vaguely recognizable isn’t as surefire a strategy as some might think. I will argue this was a willful overpayment as a show of force. It takes a potential major player off the acquisition board while showing that Amazon Prime is committed to being more than just an added value element for folks signing up for free shipping. As far as what it means for MGM’s golden goose, Eon Productions’ Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson stated that “ We are committed to continuing to make James Bond films for the worldwide theatrical audience. ” So, thank heavens, we probably shouldn’t expect James Bond 26 to premiere on Amazon Prime. As for what the acquisition means for the James Bond series, well, I don’t know because I don’t know what the 007 series will look like after Daniel Craig ends his five-movie run. This deal won’t be closed anytime soon, so it won’t directly impact the global theatrical release of No Time to Die, which will open in late September/early October courtesy of MGM (in North America) and Universal (in most overseas territories). While I’m expecting grosses on par with Spectre ($880 million in 2015) or, if Covid is still a variable, Casino Royale ($599 million in 2006), it will of course mark the end of an era. Craig made five 007 movies which played theatrically over 15 years, giving him the longest tenure in the role.
