James Bond is now controlled by Amazon – the franchise’s history holds clues to the future of 007

By Yannis Tzioumakis, Professor of Film and Media Industries, University of Liverpool

The Broccoli family have controlled the James Bond franchise ever since the films were launched by Albert “Cubby” Broccoli in 1962. Now, his daughter and stepson, long-serving producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, have announced that they have surrendered creative control to Amazon MGM Studios.

Within minutes of the announcement on February 20, critics, analysts and fans of the Bond films rushed to proclaim the end of the beloved franchise. “Quite possibly the worst thing to happen to this franchise”,…

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