Now that Amazon has control of 007, the time has come to let Christopher Nolan make a 70mm, one-off 007 epic.
The big news this week, of course, is that after more than sixty years, the Broccoli family has given up creative control over the James Bond franchise. As the site’s long-time James Bond superfan, I must admit that this news sent a bit of a chill down my spine, as the Broccoli’s have always been superb creative Stewarts over the franchise. Michael G. Wilson, the stepson of the OG bond producer, Albert R. Broccoli, actually co-wrote all of the 007 movies from For Your Eyes Only through Licence to Kill. Barbara Broccoli came along a little later, stepping up around the time Albert (or Cubby as he was often called) became ill during the Pierce Brosnan era, with him dying in 1996. Barbara is the one who famously championed Daniel Craig, ignoring widespread fan derision, who called him James Blond. Of course, he wound up being one of the greatest James Bonds of all time.
With Amazon in control, one of the inevitable things that will happen is that they’re going to make more 007-related content. That will likely involve spin-off TV shows (get ready for The Moneypenny Diaries or The Q Chronicles) or too many movies, with the key to the franchise being their scarcity, with no more than one Bond film every three years, making them an event. My fear is that Amazon won’t be able to resist having a 007 movie making its premiere on Prime, making 007 as an exclusively theatrical experience a thing of the past.
Being a James Bond superfan, I have another idea. If the Broccolis were ever criticized, it was over the fact that their creative influence on the series prevented any real A-list directors from coming on board. I think Amazon should try something completely different. Christopher Nolan has made no secret of the fact that he’s a huge James Bond fan, but he would have likely never made a 007 movie for the Broccoli family. Amazon should put the franchise on ice until Nolan wraps The Odyssey (wishful thinking) and then offer him carte blanche to do a single James Bond movie his way. This could be done as a one-off. Nolan would never allow himself to be handcuffed to a franchise, but could you imagine if Amazon approached him about doing a one-and-done James Bond movie?
Moreover, Amazon could turn it into a massive theatrical event. They should allow Nolan to shoot the movie with his favoured IMAX-cameras and give it an exclusive theatrical run in 70mm or IMAX. Later, they could do what Disney Plus does and debut the IMAX version of the film on their streaming service. This would do some interesting things that could hugely benefit the franchise. It could reignite fan excitement, giving the series a sense of prestige and opening the door to more A-list directors putting their own stamp on the character with a series of one-off theatrical films. Making each a one-and-done event would give the character fresh for decades to come and only bolster the value of the catalogue, as one thing that already happens every time a 007 film comes out is that people revisit the other movies in the franchise. It would also be a strong signal that Amazon values the series as more than just IP, allowing them to acknowledge the fact that one reason the franchise has survived for sixty-three years is that each movie had value and wasn’t just content being churned out. Basically, have them do the opposite of what Disney is doing with Marvel and Star Wars, or what Paramount is doing with Star Trek.
What do you think? Let us know what you’d do with the franchise going forward.
