Absolutely. I’m all for throwing around new ideas but a period piece shouldn’t be a serious consideration, if it ever was. There’s still a lot of groundwork to be laid with Bond 26, but I at least know they’re at work. Which wasn’t the case before.
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The 50s/60s rumour always was an unlikely scenario, eating away at budgets without a good reason to do it in return. Many of those brands don’t even exist any more, giving that product placement side of the Bond franchise a hard time to find bling fitting for the first backwards Bond. Amazon wasn’t going to be the laughing stock of the industry by cutting itself from that business. On top of having to reanimate the franchise in the first place.
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I’m not yet convinced they’d shoot back to back, but greater consideration does need to be made with happens after a film gets released. Especially a debut. I know people are afraid of a content avalanche but I don’t think sitting on your hands for four years plus is going to cut it anymore. Take the time right now to formulate a roadmap, rather than waiting around and then making it up as you go along.
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If the next film is a success I’m sure Amazon will want more films on a regular basis and within at least two years or rather yearly.
But there is so much riding on this first film. They need to find the right actor who is also willing to commit to at least four films, so the next eight years of his life (and carrying the Bond tag for the rest of his career) - AND willing to take the risk of being ridiculed and rejected for not being a good Bond.
Taking on a Marvel role does not weigh so heavily…
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That’s a good point. Nobody expects a lot from some superhero shenanigans. Chris Evans and Ryan Reynolds could even land stinkers, get a chance with a second character, be hugely successful - and still it won’t define the rest of their acting careers.
With Bond it’s hard to imagine that’s not the THE defining role of any actor willing to take it on. For better or worse.
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I have to say, this all sounds very encouraging. Even if I don’t love the artist, I’m happy to love the art.
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It’s not all that different to where the series was after Licence to Kill or Die Another Day. The biggest difference is that it’s a whole new production team making their first Bond film.
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In a way I would agree.
But who wants to be the next Dalton? And what if the next film does as badly as LTK? With no guarantee that a GE will solve problems after another six years?
I believe the next actor will actually be perceived as „what a step down from Craig“, and we will have him replaced after the second film, maybe even after the first one.
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The professional Bond fans will be paid some dancing money to profess that it is Bond and yet not Bond and they will sleep soundly having monetised an enthusiasm in a colossally vulgar manner. I have spake.
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Not so sure about this. They’ll certainly going to let everyone know that they’re the new gang and that they’re going to make it all better now.
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Well, there are some who keep saying the franchise was dead for years already, in spite of the spectacular business at the box office, so there…
I agree that most casual audiences won’t know or care who exactly does these productions. Much like we didn’t care as kids when Saltzman left the ship before THE SPY WHO LOVED ME - it was still the biggest adventure we got to see on the big screen in that summer of 1977.
But there’s no way the new management won’t make it very clear this was their version - and a very different one at that. Amazon doesn’t spend this kind of money for creative control only to do business as usual then.
Does that mean everything will be different? I don’t think so; not if they’ve got any sense left. But they will look for ways to distance themselves from the previous run, make it obvious their creative control was good for something.
I’ve only just finished Sellers’ The Search for Bond, and in this story about the casting process there’s a hint of countless alternative Bond films that ‘might have been’.
The future of film Bond may develop along such lines. And I think we as Bond watchers will surely notice the difference.
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Absolutely.
Also, it is a very changed playing field now, with theatrical releases still not and maybe never again earning the box office results the Brosnan and the Craig era enjoyed.
Yes, Bond is still a potent brand. But the younger audiences do not perceive Bond as a must see anymore. Those who grew up with Craig are now outside of that demographic. One of the most important goals Amazon must achieve is getting the teenagers excited for Bond in order to have them follow the new actor for the next decade.
It is not about getting us into theatres anymore, sadly. They know we will watch the movies, or click on them.
But if the teenagers and young adults won‘t care Amazon will see it as a failure.
It is interesting to see that the newest Marvel does a decent but not thrilling opening weekend in the US but underperforms overseas.
Bond has always been the opposite: a bigger overseas performer. So that may help the next era. But the weaker US box office always was a thorn in EON‘s side. Will that change now? Will it be geared more towards the US or even less with the new world order and the recession hitting hard in the next months?
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That would be a failure then. The series can only continue by pulling in fresh blood. And it can only continue as a cinematic experience by making Bond an event again. The biggest circus in town, offering a show no other circus does.
We’ve been discussing this changed landscape for years, sharing stories of dreadful theatre experiences and looking at underperforming blockbusters since the pandemic (actually, since before that). In my view Amazon will have to do something drastic to achieve both goals, make Bond THE event of the industry and get people to flock to theatres again.
Any Hollywood production, prestigious or profane, today is available for streaming within a matter of weeks. It’s become inconsequential what multiplexes show because next week it’s something different and you literally cannot miss out on anything because everything is available all of the time. This is the real reason people don’t bother with cinemas any longer.
If Amazon is serious about keeping Bond in the physical realm of movie theatres they are possibly in a unique position to do so: Make cinemas the only way to watch the new Bond film for a period of five or 10 years. No on-demand streaming, no Blu-ray steel boxes, no free tv. Instead, keep the new film in theatres as long as possible. Plus, arrange for annual Bond festivals to show the old ones, with double-feature options and the like.
This would of course be a radical and risky step, breaking up the monetisation chain and potentially losing money. On the other hand, who if not Amazon could afford to do this and possibly change the industry’s business model for the next few decades?
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Daring idea!
It would probably not be possible to have that five year exclusivity, due to all the built-in recouping strategies. And the fanbase is probably not as willing to watch an old Bond movie on the big screen and pay for that like the „Revenge of the Sith“ kids (turned adults) for the recent rerelease.
But they could lengthen the window between cinema release and streaming for at least six months, and I could imagine this would show whether audiences rather waited or were eager to see the new film when released.
Competition is also a factor, of course, and while the new and probably last Cruise M:I is tracking much better than the previous one, this spy action franchise will be out of the way for the next Bond. The Bourne series will rather be relegated to TV. And Marvel, well, it will be dragged along and maybe soar again with the two new Avengers movies - but it is not a competition anymore which Bond has to avoid for weeks. Star Wars is no guarantee anymore. Only Avatar, if continued as threatened, owns Christmas in certain years.
In that regard… hmm… what actually is an event movie these days anyway? Another Minecraft movie?
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That’s why now is probably the only point in time - and Amazon the only player - to even attempt such a major shift. If they really dare to do it.
Suppose ATJ really gets the part*. He’s not an A-list name, not massively established or with a huge fanbase and market value. With him, as with the entire production team, Amazon could now work out a deal taking into account a different monetisation scheme, guaranteed screen presence, guaranteed budgets, variable share of the profits and so on.
Most of that stuff is now an industry standard - but with dwindling box office revenues they all have to watch out for the pitfalls of cinematic release. If Amazon was bold enough they could now use their financial powers to significantly change the dynamics and establish their own property as THE cornerstone of a cinematic future that’s not at all a given.
As for what constitutes an ‘event’: if Amazon isn’t able to create events themselves we’ll likely have to turn to supernatural entities for help. 
*Just hypothetically, for the sake of the argument.
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Let’s see how this one does…
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And this will effectively impact (kill) a lot of plans:
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Us finance/tax people have been expecting this for a few weeks already. Talk is of a ‘Tariff Curtain’ and it’s even possible that’s what kept Amazon from moving faster. Not yet clear what exactly gets to be in the bill - or if it’s even going to be a bill instead of merely a decree - but the direction this is taking is obvious enough.
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If there really is a plan besides the obvious distraction from the 100 days disaster it looks like hurting Hollywood (California/Newsom) under the disguise of „helping“.
It might be just another ruse to get some concessions. But in any event a Bond film might now be made completely in the US, with digitally put in London and foreign locations.
Up next: tariffs on films using main characters not from the US.
Crazy? Not anymore.
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It seems to be mainly aimed at Canada for now - but will of course affect the whole industry if it’s indeed implemented. Will likely also test how deeply unpopular a nation’s entertainment industry can become over the spread of a few months.
The answer is very.
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