When Amazon took over MGM there was always a question of what would happen to the James Bond franchise. While producer Barbara Broccoli was keen to state that in her opinion the franchise was a cinematic event that would stay that way, would Amazon see it the same way or would there be a sudden wave of bond spin-off TV shows heading our way? Well it looks like Amazon have for now seen things the same way as Broccoli with the producer being given confirmation by the streaming giant that future James Bond stories will head to theatres rather than streaming platforms.
Daniel Craig is just about to have his on-screen swansong as the super-spy and when we see the character return again is it unknown, but Amazon’s comments seem to suggest the casting of a new James Bond is certainly something that is on the horizon and very much in their thoughts. Speaking to Sky TV, Broccoli appeared with Craig in the run up to the release of No Time to Die.
“We focussed on making the films for theatrical release and… I think that’s our position. [Amazon] certainly have told us that the films will be theatrical films in the future. And we’ll see what happens,” Broccoli said.
Daniel Craig added that he was very thankful that his final Bond adventure, one of the biggest, longest and most expensive in the entire franchise, finally made it into theaters and was not forced down the streaming route of many other movies that have suffered similar delays thanks to the various Covid lockdowns.
“It would have been sad [to see it on a streaming service], and we got here and we’re going to actually get into the cinemas,” he said, referring to MGM holding out for a theatrical release, before reminiscing on his reaction to originally being cast in the iconic role. “I just said I can’t, I mean; I think you got the wrong guy. Thank you, flattering, but I think you’ve got the wrong guy. I didn’t realise Barbara had already made up her mind. You know, if you know Barbara, that means she’s made up her mind. It was just odd. It was just kind of and genuinely, you know people used to say oh you must have always wanted to be James Bond. I went well, yeah, kind of as a kid I kind of thought about it. I want to be Spider-Man as well, but I just thought it was never going to happen. And I never thought it would come on my radar. I just was like, I don’t know, that’s such an awful lot of pressure and God almighty, that’s just going to be such a kind of like a momentous thing. Am I ready?”
No Time to Die arrives in theaters in the UK on September 30th following its world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of days earlier. The film launches in the US on October 8th, and MGM means it this time. Barbara Broccoli’s quotes come to us from Deadline.