Just hours after it was announced that Amazon MGM is gaining total creative control over the James Bond franchise, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is now outsourcing the casting process online. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, stewards of the James Bond franchise for decades, have stepped aside from the franchise their family has overseen for 60 years. James Bond was one of the last franchises not owned outright by a major corporation, but now 007 will answer not only to M but also to Jeff Bezos. The new corporate owner is already making some moves on the franchise that likely won't go over well.
Jeff Bezos took to Instagram to share that Amazon MGM is now in control of the 007 franchise. The post, featuring a photo of previous James Bond actor Daniel Craig, was accompanied by a simple caption: "Who would you pick as the next Bond?" The post (see below) has already generated over 5,000 likes, and some top comments include longtime franchise favorites Henry Cavill and Idris Elba.
On the surface, this seems like a harmless post, but the fact that it's from the CEO of the company now in charge of overseeing the direction of future Bond movies can't help but feel like testing the waters to see who would be a popular pick. Maya Hawke's recent comments about how an actor's social media following is now factored into casting decisions only highlight the depressing reality of the situation. The next James Bond might not be picked by a director with a vision for the character or after months of auditions, but instead based on a fan poll.
Fans Don't Always Know What's Best
The idea of leaving the prospect of the next James Bond in the hands of fans can't help but feel like a bad call. Fans can be passionate individuals, but that doesn't make them experts at casting. Casting directors exist for a reason: that process is harder than it looks. Oftentimes, fans go for superficial elements, which can lead to obvious and uninspired picks. People spent years wanting Bryan Cranston to play Lex Luthor just because he played an evil bald man before. Even now, some fans want Mikey Madison to play Harley Quinn in the DCU just because Anora speaks with a similar accent to the Harley Quinn from Batman: The Animated Series. If there hadn't been a bit of imagination in the casting process, Daniel Craig never would've been cast because he didn't fit the public's perception of James Bond.
This has certainly been a rough day for fans of James Bond, as they fear Amazon MGM will milk the IP for streaming series and spin-offs and try to make a shared universe out of a single character. Even if Bezos's post is in jest, it fails to read the room and can't help but confirm fans' worst fears that this will be a very corporate product. The search for a new Bond being conducted without a director or a screenplay attached suggests a corporate-approved Bond, one who's safe and not controversial at all because the "fans" approved it. If this plays out as expected, Henry Cavill might get his chance to play James Bond just because he is British, has dark hair, and has already played a super spy in two separate films, and he is the only pick people can seem to think of.
James Bond
Summary
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks and Jeffery Deaver; a new novel, written by William Boyd, is planned for release in 2013. Additionally, Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny. The fictional British Secret Service agent has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip and video game formats as well as being used in the longest running and the second-highest grossing film franchise to date, which started in 1962 with Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as Bond. As of 2012, there have been twenty two films in the Eon Productions series, with a twenty third, Skyfall, due for release on 26 October 2012. The film will star Daniel Craig in his third portrayal of Bond: he is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series. There have also been two independent productions of Bond films, Casino Royale, a 1967 spoof, and Never Say Never Again, a 1983 remake of an earlier Eon-produced film, Thunderball. The films are renowned for a number of features, including the musical accompaniment, with the theme songs to the films having picked up Academy Award nominations on several occasions. Other important elements which run through most of the films include Bond's cars, his guns and the gadgets he is supplied with by Q Branch.
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