“Who’d you pick as the next Bond?” Jeff Bezos asked. And so began a new era for the biggest star in British cinema. The question was floated this week to mark Amazon acquiring creative control of the James Bond franchise. This being 2025, Bezos was posting on X, with his curiosity framed as the kind of populist appeal that might actually be acted on. Squint and you might even have sensed a regal invitation from the expensively muscled Bezos, who, after all, shares initials with the character. Dear God — were we meant to vote for him?

The deal sees longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson remain co-owners of the brand, but with all filmmaking decisions now the sole domain of the company that bought Bond parent studio MGM in 2021. Behind the politely upbeat press release, it marks a brutal end for a family business. The adult children of original Bond producer, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, will now be relegated to the back seat — or boot — of the 007 Aston Martin, while Bezos and team take the wheel. 

The handover may not have been wholly amicable. For some time, reports have suggested a relationship strained by arguments over the future of the role vacated by Daniel Craig after the most recent Bond movie, 2021’s No Time to Die. Last December, Broccoli was reported as calling her corporate partners “fucking idiots”.