EXCLUSIVE: Secrets of 'Shambles' James Bond Franchise — How Next 007 Flick STILL Has No Star, No Script… And No Plan
James Bond fans are unlikely to see a new movie version of the 007 blockbuster until at least 2028.
Jan. 27 2025, Updated 12:35 p.m. ET
James Bond fans are unlikely to see a new movie version of the 007 blockbuster until at least 2028.
Bosses at Amazon, which now owns the Bond studio MGM have been branded "f------ idiots" by film-making partners Eon Productions over the shambles, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
A source told us: "What’s gone wrong with James Bond? There is no star, no script and no plan and that doesn't look like that will change anytime soon. Amazon is dragging its feet and that is an understatement."
It has now been a staggering 10 years since Daniel Craig said he was done with 007 – and three since he died on screen in Bond flick No Time to Die.
Amazon's $8.45billion MGM buyout has put Bond's future in limbo, leaving fans hoping in vain for a new star – decades after Pierce Brosnan's turn as the super spy.
Bond was blown to smithereens in the movie.
But any panic for fans was short-lived – as the final words on the screen announced: "James Bond will return."
No Time to Die hit cinemas almost three-and-a-half years ago.
In truth, the quest for a new Bond has been running for a decade, ever since Craig said on promo duties for Spectre said he would rather "slash my wrists" than play the spy again.
He returned for No Time to Die but walked off the set for the last time in 2019.
Bond boss Barbara Broccoli called Amazon bosses 'f------ idiots' over the Bond franchise chaos.
In 2021 Amazon bought MGM for $8.45billion, acquiring MGM’s financial stake in the James Bond franchise through its partnership with Eon Productions.
Despite Amazon’s purchase, the contract stated that the Eon supremos Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G Wilson would retain creative control.
But when asked what the Amazon deal meant for Bond, she said: "The truth is we don’t know. We are not really any more enlightened about how we fit in."
An exasperated Broccoli also told friends last year about her new masters at Amazon."These people are f------ idiots."
Daniel Craig's departure after 'No Time to Die' left the franchise without a leading man,
The spy series has been here before. A combination of financial pressures, a change of lead and questions about Bond’s place in a post-Soviet world meant there were six years, four months and ten days between 1989’s Licence to Kill, Timothy Dalton’s curtain call, and 1995’s GoldenEye, the first to feature Pierce Brosnan.
That is, as yet, the longest gap between Bond films.
The next Bond will have to be released by February 2028 to avoid taking that unwanted record. Yet such a time frame seems optimistic.
Our source added: "The industry consensus is that we will be waiting another three years at least.
Idris Elba and Tom Hardy have been touted as possible favorites for the Bond role, but Amazon's delay is casting doubt on the future of the entire franchise.
Favorites to take over Bond are stars like Tom Hardy and Idris Elba.
But Aaron Taylor-Johnson has an uphill battle to climb if he wants to play James Bond, especially following his latest Hollywood fail.
The 34-year-old stars as the lead in Kraven the Hunter, which has already crashed and burned at the box office.
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Aaron Taylor-Johnson's 'Kraven the Hunter' flop has raised questions about his spy hero potential.
The film, which reportedly cost between $110 to $130million, has not reeled audiences, only making $61million worldwide.
This comes after the Sony production made an embarrassing $11million opening weekend in America.
Following the failure, many in the industry are now wondering if Taylor-Johnson is the right man and has the "mainstream appeal" to take over as the British spy.
