James Bond will reportedly remain male and British under Amazon management

nme.com:

James Bond will reportedly remain male and British under the franchise’s new management by Amazon MGM Studios.Last month, it was announced that the long-serving producers of 007, Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G.

Wilson, had stepped away from the creative process and handed over control to Amazon, ending over 60 years of the Broccoli family’s control of the Bond estate.Now, a report by the Daily Mail states that an internal memo has circulated within the studio that stipulates “the spy will not change gender or nationality”, although it did state that the new Bond could come from elsewhere in the Commonwealth.Amazon have not publicly commented on the report.Bond fans have not reacted kindly to the news of the franchise’s sale, with some predicting that Amazon will “ruin” the series by over-saturating the market with “mediocre spin-offs”.A previous report suggested that Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos decided to pursue the buyout and have the company take creative control of the films after reading that Broccoli referred to Amazon executives as “fucking idiots” during her dealings with the company.The Hollywood Reporter noted that an insider said Bezos “read her quote in the Journal and got on the phone and said, ‘I don’t care what it takes, get rid of her’.”Amazon acquired its share of the rights to the James Bond franchise in 2021 when they purchased studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

The acquisition gave them access to the previous films and distribution of future movies, but up until now not the creative direction.Following the takeover announcement, Bezos took to social media to ask fans who should next portray the iconic spy.