CGTN Europe discussed this with film critic Adam Solomons
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00:00Welcome back to Global Business Europe. The specter of the James Bond film franchise coming under the control of Amazon MGM has become a reality.
00:09Long-serving masterminds Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have agreed to step aside, reportedly taking with them a quantum of solace in the region of one billion dollars.
00:20Amazon will now take on the task of naming a successor for Daniel Craig and creating the next Bond installment since No Time to Die, which was released four years ago.
00:32James Bond. Goodbye, James.
00:43You can't run. It's too late.
00:51Crawling under your skin.
00:54Don't be alarmed. It's harmless to us.
00:57The name's Adam. Adam Solomon's licensed to be a film critic. Adam, good to see you. Why has this happened?
01:06Good question. It took Hollywood by complete surprise and it took much of people like me in the film industry in this country, too, by complete shock.
01:15Why has it happened? Well, it's happened in order to secure a Bond film quicker.
01:20Crucially, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, as you said, the sort of stewards of the Bond legacy for decades, have been dragging their heels in order to preserve the prestige of the franchise.
01:31And that has led to some amazing creative decisions and some bold casting choices like Daniel Craig.
01:38But it's also meant that we haven't had as many Bond films as some people would like.
01:42And Amazon, which now own the distribution rights, would like more Bond films and TV shows and spin offs.
01:48It's a boring answer, but I think they just want more Bond.
01:52What does it mean for viewers and audiences? I guess simply more Bond, many more probably every year or what?
02:01It would probably be a similar situation to when Disney bought Star Wars in 2012.
02:07What happened is that before 2012, George Lucas owned Star Wars and he made the three films in the 70s and 80s.
02:14And then they sat on the show for decades and he brought back the prequels, which which had a mixed reception.
02:20What Disney then did was release three Star Wars films very quickly.
02:24Lots and lots of TV shows and lots and lots of films. And what that meant for viewers is that there was more Star Wars and they were very excited by that.
02:31But it did mean that the quality of Star Wars was diminished.
02:35And I think we'll probably see something similar with Bond where we're going to see lots more of it.
02:39But is it going to be as good as what we've got used to? Probably not.
02:42What's in it for Amazon and what's in it for the previous custodians? A shared load of money, presumably.
02:49Just that. Just that. So what Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have done is hand over the creative control.
02:56So Amazon already owned 50 percent of Bond and they had the theatrical distribution rights.
03:02This is creative control. I'll be surprised if it's a billion.
03:05That's a huge amount for creative control of even a franchise like this.
03:09But it will be a very big amount. I mean, Michael G. Wilson's 83, Barbara Broccoli is 64.
03:14They're looking at retirement and they're looking at doing different things.
03:17And, you know, to some extent, fair play to them.
03:20But film critics like me are a bit worried about what this could mean for Bond.
03:25So Amazon, they just see money in the bank. It's money for everyone, really, is the motivating factor.
03:30How quickly can you knock these off? Because No Time to Die was released four years ago, wasn't it?
03:35When are we going to see the next James Bond? And who is the next James Bond?
03:41Well, Jeff Bezos has already tweeted his sort of open call out on who people should think,
03:47who people think should be the next Bond. And Henry Cavill fans swarmed his replies.
03:51So he's a he's a name up there, although I did just check the odds.
03:55And James Norton and Aaron Taylor Johnson are tied top. Harris Dickinson's in there.
04:00Theo James from the White Lotus. Joshua O'Connor was in there. He's a really good actor.
04:04You might have seen him in Challengers, but he'd be completely different.
04:07And then Roger Jean Page from Bridgerton, although he is 37, which might be too old.
04:13So I think it could be someone young that we haven't even heard of yet.
04:18But I think we'll probably have another Bond film in probably two or three years.
04:20I don't think much sooner than that. Adam, I had another note here saying he's a bit of a male chauvinist dinosaur.
04:26But the producer says that was his description of me rather than Bond. So we'll pass on that.
04:30Good to see you, Adam. Adam Solomon's the film critic.