The icon of the film and super spy James Bond seems to be on another rise to the top of the box office just a few years ago, but things have been almost as quiet as a shot from a Walther PPK with a silencer since then. Daniel Craig took on the role in 2006 with the Casino Royale and passed the baton to the 2021’s No Time to Die in one of the most heartbreaking endings in Bond’s cinematic history (you cried, just admit it).

What’s even sadder is why we haven’t seen a new Bond film since then.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon and Barbara Broccoli, the producer who inherited the franchise from her father and film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli when he died in 1996, are in the middle of an ugly fight that halting production on the next Bond film. Apparently, Barbara doesn’t trust Amazon with her family’s famous movie franchise.

How bad is it? Well, here’s a quote from Barbara to some of her friends explaining how she feels about the people who run the Amazon media empire: “These people are idiots.” Man, awkward with a capital “awk.”

The stalemate began in 2021 when Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion and thus acquired the rights to distribute Bond films, according to different. The deal seems like a big step for Amazon to enter Hollywood with one of the most famous and strong film franchises.

Unfortunately for Amazon, the real power of the James Bond films lies with Broccoli. He pitches ideas for Bond’s big-screen adventures and when they go into production, and Broccoli doesn’t want to work with Amazon anytime soon. The WSJ Speaking to 20 people familiar with the fight, Broccoli felt Amazon was not the right place for a Bond film because its main business was retail and ecommerce.

If Amazon buys MGM, getting the rights to the Bond franchise will be a significant part of the deal’s value. Broccoli and co-producer Michael Wilson had some reservations but assured they would still retain creative control. The COVID lockdowns have made it difficult to jump on the next Bond film production. However, things seemed to be smooth between the two parties when Amazon also insisted that the next Bond film No Time to Die AVAILABLE a theatrical release.

But once the deal fell through, Amazon executives began thinking of ways to expand the Bond film franchise into other mediums such as a Moneypenny spinoff series for Prime Video or a separate spy film or TV show. takes place in the Bond universe. Broccoli refused to let any projects go ahead. He also lamented Amazon entertainment executive Jennifer Salke’s use of the word “content” to describe new James Bond projects and any ideas Amazon had for Bond were labeled “TBD” in memos. So far, the only Bond property that Amazon can get Broccoli to sign is a reality series 007: Road to a Million which is entering its second season.

Broccoli and his family have been part of the Bond film franchise for most of his life so he is fiercely protective of the brand and his father’s cinematic legacy. He also began training Wilson’s son Gregg to produce new installments and possibly prepare him to take over the franchise in the future. However that led to disagreements over who should play Bond in the next film. That’s assuming we get one and it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon.

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