Timothy Dalton finds James Bond-Amazon deal "kind of sad"

Broccoli’s family will still have part ownership of the intellectual property rights, but they ceded creative control to the studio three years after Amazon acquired MGM. The move was a shocker for Hollywood, as Broccoli reportedly didn’t like Amazon’s approach to the franchise. “I have no idea what Amazon would do with it, and I have no idea what the relationship of Amazon to the Broccolis will be,” Dalton said in his interview. “But it is a damn fine series of movies. I was watching it when I was young, we all were. It’s been part of our lives, so anything that threatens it is kind of sad.”

Dalton isn’t the only ex-Bond who has weighed in about the changing of the guard, though Daniel Craig kept his feelings about Amazon out of it. “My respect, admiration and love for Barbara and Michael remain constant and undiminished,” Craig said in a statement last week (via Variety). “I wish Michael a long, relaxing (and well deserved) retirement and whatever ventures Barbara goes on to do, I know they will be spectacular and I hope I can be part of them.”

Meanwhile, Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams, who decided to retire prior to the Amazon shake-up, expressed similar admiration for the Broccolis but more suspicion of Amazon. “I am sad to see the end of this era but totally understand why it has happened. Prior to Amazon acquiring MGM, Barbara and Michael had a good working relationship with the studio and always held the final decisions,” McWilliams said in an email to ScreenDaily. “Looking at Amazon’s previous theatrical films does not fill me with any great enthusiasm.” Referencing Jeff Bezos’ post on Twitter/X asking followers “Who should be the next Bond?”, McWilliams observed, “If they mess with the essence of Bond, they risk alienating a huge audience. Choosing the actor to fill the role is a huge task and not one I would hand over to subscribers of X.” 

But, despite sharing some of these reservations, Timothy Dalton isn’t quite so pessimistic about Bond’s future. “Everyone who’s got anything to do with it will be working very hard to make it a hit,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “Amazon are quite capable of making it a hit, I should think.”