The longest time frame between James Bond movie releases was six years, with the mark being hit twice: first between Timothy Dalton’s final outing, 1989’s License to Kill, and Pierce Brosnan’s debut, 1995’s GoldenEye; the most recent came between 2015’s Spectre and 2021’s No Time to Die. It has now been three years since that Daniel Craig farewell hit the screen…but will it be another three? According to one key figure at Amazon (who acquired MGM in 2022), patience is still key.
Speaking with The Guardian, Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said, “The global audience will be patient. We don’t want too much time between films, but we are not concerned at this point.” That comment seems to sit somewhere in the middle. Are the studios not concerned because they have a specific vision for the future? Or because they feel like they’re on track for a timely enough release for the next James Bond movie? At the same time, we do wonder what “at this point” really means…
Even though Amazon snatched up MGM for $8.5 billion, Eon Productions still gets final say in all things 007. With that, the next James Bond movie can’t cast their new actor without their approval. On this, Salke stated, “There are a lot of ideas [about potential actors] that have popped up that I thought are interesting. I think there are a lot of different ways we can go. We have a good and close relationship with Eon and Barbara and Michael. We are not looking to disrupt the way those wonderful films are made. For us, we are taking their lead.”
It’s a bit disheartening that there has been no movement on who will lead the future of James Bond, as no star or director has been announced for the first post-Craig movie. The likes of Sam Mendes, Christopher Nolan and Edward Berger have already made it aware they are not tied to the franchise, although The Fall Guy’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson has already gotten approval from past 007s Pierce Brosnan and George Lazenby.
Are you remaining patient and optimistic about the future of the James Bond franchise? Do you think it will surpass that six-year threshold?