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One of the world’s richest people is already playing with his latest toy.
Thursday morning, news broke that the James Bond franchise, which was already owned by Amazon due to its 2022 purchase of MGM, was changing creative leadership. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, whose families had been controlling the franchise for 60 years, retained ownership but are passing creative control to Amazon. The move instantly sparked all sorts of speculation and debate about the massive corporation owning such a crucial piece of pop culture and the head of Amazon was more than happy to weight in.
“Who’d you pick as the next Bond?” Jeff Bezos tweeted soon after the news. The question sparked all manner of fans flooding him with ideas, especially fans of Henry Cavill, who auditioned for the role back in 2005. Cavill, for the record, is currently 41 years old, which is about the age the last several Bond actors were when they took over the role.
Whoever sips the next shaken—but not stirred—martini aside, the fact that Bezos has a role to play in this feels hugely disconcerting. Part of the reason why the Bond franchise has remained so beloved is the high quality demanded by its producers. Now, under Amazon, even if they cast Cavill or another fantastic actor, there’s every chance the franchise will get watered down: too many spinoffs, too many brand deals, not enough consideration. Look what has happened to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Marvel, DC, Star Trek, you name it in the past few decades. Once a major corporation takes hold, it squeezes those brand names for everything they’re worth. And, in the end, while some good things do come of that, there’s also the danger of oversaturation and a dip in quality. Which, obviously, has happened in basically all of those cases.
And, in all of those cases, at least there were still some strong creative voices in the room: Kevin Feige, James Gunn, Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, etc. People with experience telling stories. Not Jeff freaking Bezos.
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