James Bond Will Return, and Return, And Return

Note: This post contains a spoiler for the film No Time to Die

Diehard James Bond fans always stay until the very end of the movie credits, where the words “James Bond Will Return in” are followed by the next installment's title. As a discerning Bondophile, I now wonder if he should just stay away. 

End credits

In 2022, I wrote about all things Bond: my favorite film (the oft-maligned Diamonds Are Forever), my favorite Bond (the oft-maligned Roger Moore), my favorite recent Bond film (the phenomenal Skyfall), and the most controversial one (No Time to Die, where, after 59 cinematic years, he dies an unworthy death. In the end credits, we are told teasingly that Bond will return, but not the next film's title.)

Way off the mark, I claimed in 2022 that speculation about the next actor to play Bond was at a “fever pitch” with an announcement imminent. Two years later, we still don’t know who will succeed Daniel Craig as James Bond. However, his Aston Martin’s wheels are once again spinning.

Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson

Amazon swallowed up MGM Studios in 2022 and the rights to Bond with it. The series' longtime producer-heirs, half-siblings Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, retained creative control, causing an extended stalemate over whether Bond is a movie franchise or a brand, as Jeff Bezos would have it. 

But money talked, and the Amazon czar ultimately made the two Bond keepers a $1 billion offer no one in their right mind would refuse—even for James Bond. 

Bezos (left);
Donald Pleasence as Blofeld (right)

This concatenation of events reveals Bezos as the newest Bond villain. All he needs is a Siamese cat.

Like perennial bad guy and fellow baldie Ernst Stavro Blofeld plotting to take over the world, Bezos wants Bond to dominate the entertainment industry. 

The next actor to play 007 must commit fifteen years of his career and lend his voice and image to various spinoffs: video games, memes, and other brand extensions of the digital age. Amazon aims to fully exploit this intellectual property. There is even talk of a weekly TV show.

But a significant element of the Bond films' appeal has always been their rhythm and pulse. Fans had to wait between installments. 

Amazon will take the opposite approach: ubiquity. Expect Bond saturation; prepare for Bond fatigue. 

Yes, James Bond will return in the Amazon era—over and over again.

--

Don't go anonymous: Please type your name after your comments. It's as simple as that.