Thread by @thesundaytimes

Will James Bond’s delayed return in #NoTimeToDie be the saviour the cinema industry needs?

Now that the franchise is owned by Amazon, will 007 turn into a streaming franchise? Will the next Bond be a white man, a black man, a woman, or even an American?
thetimes.co.uk/article/why-bo…

Not even Barbara Broccoli, the daughter of the super-producer who made the first Bond film – Dr No – in 1962, is prepared to guess what kind of Bond comes next

@JonathanDean_ spoke to Broccoli and producer Michael G Wilson, between them guardians of the franchise for 75 years

As if the tumult of No Time to Die’s serial stalling was not enough for Broccoli and Wilson, they now have to deal with Bezos, Jeffrey Bezos.

What, I ask Broccoli, does the Amazon deal mean for the future of Bond? “The truth is we don’t know. Until the deal is approved and we are able to get into deep discussions with them we don’t know.

“We’re hoping that they are going to want a strong theatrical line-up"

Is Bond’s fate now in the hands of a goodie who might turn out to be a baddie? Or is Bezos a baddie who may yet turn out to be a goodie? Is the 007 of so many memories about to turn into a streaming franchise?

Who will replace Daniel Craig?

“Daniel’s made an indelible impression,” Wilson says. “So it’s inevitable that what he brought will be, in some way, incorporated. We don’t have any frontrunners"

Before Craig brought that depth, the candidates for 007 were almost identical: all strong, handsome, white. Now actors of all types and ethnicities are mentioned as possibles.

But no actor will win universal acclaim in our world of social media and identity politics.

“It’s a big decision for us because we’re entering into a partnership with an actor. It’s not like casting a movie when you find the best actor at the time — it’s about resetting the whole template for the movies to come."

Read more here: thetimes.co.uk/article/why-bo…