A 'Dire' Clash Behind the Scenes Is Holding Up the Next James Bond Film: Report

Fans of James Bond might have to wait longer than expected for the next 007 entry.

Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli and Amazon, which obtained the rights to release Bond movies after it bought Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in 2022, "are at an impasse" when it comes to continuing the franchise, per a recent report by The Wall Street Journal. The article, based on interviews with more than 20 people familiar with the growing feud, claims that Broccoli, 64, "does not want to make a new Bond movie with Amazon."

"She has told friends she doesn’t trust algorithm-centric Amazon with a character she helped to mythologize through big-screen storytelling and gut instinct," the report reads. "This fall, she characterized the status of a new movie in dire terms — no script, no story and no new Bond."

Representatives for Amazon and Eon, the production company that makes the Bond movies, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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Broccoli inherited the rights to the Bond franchise from her father Albert "Cubby" Broccoli some three decades ago; she works in tandem with her stepbrother Michael G. Wilson, 82, though The Wall Street Journal reported that Broccoli herself "has emerged more recently as the primary steward" of the franchise.

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Per the report, Broccoli feels that Amazon "isn't a good home for Bond" given the company's primary business of "selling everything" and retains the ability to "hold Bond hostage from Amazon for as long as she sees fit" given her creative control over the films. 

While the report indicates Amazon has remained consistent on its goal to release a new Bond film in theaters, Broccoli reportedly balked when Amazon executives suggested a variety of spin-offs and took offense when one executive referred to the franchise as "content" during a 2022 meeting. 

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Bond fans have waited for news regarding a new movie — and a new actor to portray 007 — since 2021's No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's last time in the role. According to The Wall Street Journal, Broccoli has told friends that she would have no problem with casting a non-white or openly gay actor to portray Bond, but definitely believes the character should always be played by a British man.

Broccoli and Wilson appeared alongside Craig, 56, at the 15th Governors Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, where the sibling producer duo received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Prior to the event, Broccoli and Wilson spoke with The Associated Press and simply said that casting a new Bond is "a big decision."

“People are playing it very safe. I think in times of crisis like this, you’ve got to be brave,” Broccoli said at that time. “It’s certainly a new era in the movie business, so we’re trying to figure it out.”

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