Bond will stay in cinemas… for now
Broccoli and Wilson have seen off previous attempts at a Bond TV series — “We’ve resisted that call for 60 years,” Wilson told Total Film – and, along with a resistance to spin-offs, EON are committed to making Bond for the cinema. Bond going straight to digital was mooted during the Covid delay of No Time to Die, while big budget Marvel films now find their way very quickly – or even immediately – on Disney+. Broccoli reiterated: “We make films. We make films for the cinema. That’s what we do.” Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, though, Broccoli’s stance seemed less certain. “We make theatrical films and go to great pains to make them as cinematic as possible… I think that’s what we intend to do, but things change, so who knows? Down the road, it may be different.”
Despite assurances, the influence of Amazon is a concern. Screenwriter John Logan, co-writer of Skyfall and Spectre, wrote a New York Times op-ed warning against the influence of Amazon’s corporate interests (“What happens when focus groups report they don’t like Bond drinking martinis?”). EON was also dealt a blow when MGM bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy left amid the Amazon takeover. Will EON be able to resist Amazon taking control? Thankfully, fans can rely on Broccoli and Wilson’s integrity – so far, they have fiercely guarded Bond’s best interests.
Bond 26 is still years away
With Broccoli and Wilson focused on how to reinvent Bond, the next film is still way off. “I’d say that filming is at least two years away,” Broccoli told Deadline in June 2022. Two years later we still haven’t had a confirmed name, never mind actual filming.
There’s also no word. Unless it’s a “for your eyes only” type situation. Barbara Broccoli previously hinted that veteran Bond writers Robert Wade and Neal Purvis (who’ve co-written every film since The World is Not Enough in 1999) could return to the fold to get the ball rolling. “That’s something that we’ll do, probably with Rob and Neal,” said Broccoli about Bond’s next mission. “We’ll start the process and then we’ll see where we go.”
At a BFI event last month honouring Christopher Nolan, Rishi Sunak of all people offered his services as the new Bond. Barbara Broccoli responded with a typically vague update, saying “there’s nothing I can tell you about the next Bond film. There’s nothing. Nothing is happening yet.”