Entertainment
What Amazon MGM’s creative control over the James Bond film franchise means for the future of 007
Colin Burnett, Washington University in St. Louis
James Bond was front and center at the 2025 Academy Awards – and in a somewhat curious way.
In a musical number, Lisa of Blackpink, Doja Cat and Raye sang the Bond theme songs “Live and Let Die,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “Skyfall,” respectively. No Bond films had been nominated for an award, and none of these singers has a connection to the Bond franchise, though they did all recently collaborate on the single “Born Again.”
The strange exercise felt less like a celebration and more like a big flashing question mark for a screen icon whose future has never felt more uncertain.
Since the shocking news dropped on Feb. 20, 2025, that Jeff Bezos’ Amazon MGM Studios would assume creative control over the James Bond film franchise, commentators and fans have wondered why.
Why would the Broccoli family, which has long held the rights to Bond movies through their company, EON, cede control of the film series to a tech partner they’ve been at odds with?
Two possibilities have emerged.
First, EON’s Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, the stepson and daughter of legendary EON producer Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, may have reached a point of creative exhaustion. There could be something to this theory. According to Puck’s Matthew Belloni, the 83-year-old Wilson and 64-year-old Broccoli were having difficulty figuring out their next step after 2021’s “No Time to Die.”
A second reason could be Amazon’s impatience with EON. In December 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that Barbara Broccoli balked when Amazon Studios executive Jennifer Salke proposed several Bond spinoff projects, including a Bond series with a female lead, for Prime Video. Perhaps frustrated with the stalemate, Amazon may have made Wilson and Broccoli an offer they couldn’t refuse to get them out of the way and get production of Bond content rolling.
The speculation is certainly intriguing. But a more central question shouldn’t be overlooked: the “what.”
What, precisely, has Amazon MGM acquired? And what can it actually do with the Bond story?
Breaking down the Bond rights
In my research on the 007 franchise, I’ve discovered that this property has never been a traditional film series.
Long before “Star Wars” launched in 1976 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched in 2008, Bond relied on a range of mediums to tell its story.
The Bond franchise began in 1953, not with a film but with a novel, Ian Fleming’s “Casino Royale.” One year later, “Casino Royale” was adapted for American TV as a live anthology show. Four years after that, in 1958, a popular Bond comic strip made its debut.
It was only in 1962, with “Dr. No,” starring Sean Connery, that the now-iconic film series began.
Since then, James Bond has been spun off into a children’s animated show, choose-your-own-adventure books, a “Young Bond” novel series, video games, a reality show, radio dramas and more.
Here’s what’s crucial: With its new deal, Amazon MGM has a controlling stake only in the rights that EON holds. EON has licensed the right to produce future films and TV shows from Fleming since 1961. EON secured worldwide merchandising rights in 1964 and production rights to video games in the early 1990s.
Other 007 media – the literary, comic and audio series – are managed by the Fleming Estate and Ian Fleming Publications.
The James Bond media franchise is what I call a shared rights and licensing network.
No one company controls all of the Bond rights, and no one company produces all of Bond media. Though this arrangement is a complicated one, the sharing and licensing of rights has allowed Bond to emerge as a lucrative and fecund product line. According to my calculations, it now boasts over 330 original stories in 72 years of media production.
In other words, Bond is much more than the 25 films released by EON.
James Bond’s many lives
Until now, rights sharing and licensing have ensured that the Bond franchise remains creatively distinct from “Star Wars” and Marvel.
The companies that produce these series – LucasFilm and Marvel Studios – are owned by The Walt Disney Company. With their rights pooled under one corporate entity that also oversees all production, “Star Wars” and Marvel have been able to drive toward high levels of creative consistency and unity among their stories. Across films, TV, comics and video games, “Star Wars” and Marvel aspire to what media specialists call “transmedia storytelling.”
By sharing rights, the Bond franchise has arrived at a very different type of storytelling, one that fragments the story and multiplies the James Bonds to be experienced across distinct media. The effect isn’t transmedia storytelling, or even a Marvel-style multiverse. In Bond, characters can’t cross over to alternate realities and meet other versions of themselves.
James Bond exists in many different worlds and leads many different lives.
To name a few: There’s the Bond of Fleming’s 1950s and 1960s novels, who loses his first love, Vesper Lynd, and hunts down her killers, who are members of SMERSH, the assassination arm of Soviet intelligence agencies. Fleming’s Bond also lives on in the novels of Kingsley Amis and John Gardner, which were published in the 1970s and 1980s.
There’s EON’s silver screen Bond, who, from 1962 to 2002, never falls in love with Vesper, but loses his wife, Tracy di Vicenzo, to the crime syndicate SPECTRE and remains scarred by the loss. And in the modern era, there’s the Bond who appears in author Samantha Weinberg’s “Moneypenny Diaries.” Published from 2005 to 2008, the series depicts a version of Bond who has retired to a small Scottish isle with his lover, MI6’s Miss Moneypenny.
The effect of Bond’s shared structure is what I dub “threaded storytelling.” The novels present various versions of Bond’s life, at different points in history. The film series creates two of its own. The comic series offers yet more lives of 007.
Each version of Bond runs alongside the others in the market, focusing on a Bond character who exists only within his unique story world. This gives fans an unpredictable, ever-expanding canon of stories to follow and even compare, like one grand spot-the-difference game in time.
Where next for Bond?
The deal between Amazon MGM and EON awaits regulatory approval in the U.S. and U.K.
If it goes through, Amazon MGM will have a strong property on its hands. Over the decades, EON has reinforced certain elements to the character and the story: James Bond is a debonair hitman. MI6 chief M gives him high-stakes missions. MI6 armorer Q fits him with the latest gadgets. And Bond lives large, enjoying beautiful women, fine dining, Savile Row fashions and Omega timepieces.
Amazon MGM is unlikely to tinker with these Bondian elements. They’re also likely to preserve the movies’ “Bond formula” – the gun barrel visual that kicks off each film, elaborately designed credit sequences, film-specific theme songs, and the closing title card that reads, “James Bond Will Return.”
Yet some fans fear that Amazon MGM will develop “woke” storylines. Others foresee the product being diluted with countless streaming spinoff series.
To me, the more intriguing possibility is whether Amazon will try to create a more unified Bond universe, akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, the Fleming Estate will continue to manage the novels, comics and radio. But with creative control over EON’s rights, Amazon MGM could, in theory, develop an elaborate transmedia strategy never before explored in this franchise.
A relaunched film series, perhaps serving as Amazon MGM’s “mothership,” would feed into satellite series in video games and streaming shows. These games and shows, in turn, would tie into and expand the universe of the films.
Were that to happen, the Bond franchise would truly enter a new phase and risk losing much of the creative flexibility it’s possessed in the past.
Colin Burnett, Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies, Washington University in St. Louis
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Forgotten Genius Fridays
Octavia E. Butler: The Black Woman Who Helped Change Science Fiction
Discover how Octavia E. Butler transformed science fiction, explored Black identity, and helped shape Afrofuturism through her groundbreaking novels.
Forgotten Genius Friday | The Knowledge | STM Daily News
Octavia E. Butler: The Woman Who Reimagined the Future
When we think about science fiction, we often picture spaceships, robots, alien civilizations, and futuristic technology. But what happens when science fiction becomes a way to explore racism, inequality, human survival, and the consequences of our choices?
That is exactly what Octavia E. Butler brought to the genre.
Long before Afrofuturism became a widely recognized cultural movement, Butler was creating extraordinary stories that placed Black characters—especially Black women—at the center of imagined futures.
Her work challenged conventional ideas about who could be a hero, whose experiences mattered, and what science fiction could accomplish.
A Young Girl With a Powerful Imagination
Octavia Estelle Butler was born on June 22, 1947, in Pasadena, California.
Raised primarily by her mother and grandmother after her father’s death, Butler grew up shy and found comfort in books and storytelling.
Her mother worked as a domestic employee, and Butler sometimes accompanied her to work. Those experiences exposed her to the racial and economic inequalities that would later influence her fiction.
As a child, Butler loved science fiction, but she noticed something missing: people who looked like her.
Rather than accepting that absence, she began creating stories of her own.
She would eventually become one of the most influential writers in speculative fiction.
Breaking Barriers in Science Fiction
During the 1970s, mainstream American science fiction was largely associated with white male writers and protagonists.
Butler entered that literary world with a different perspective.
Her first published novel, Patternmaster, appeared in 1976. It introduced readers to a world shaped by extraordinary mental abilities, social hierarchies, and struggles for power.
Butler continued developing complex stories that explored humanity’s relationship with authority, identity, biology, and survival.
In 1979, she published one of her best-known novels, Kindred.
The book follows Dana, a Black woman living in 1970s California who is repeatedly transported back to a Maryland plantation before the Civil War.
Through Dana’s experiences, Butler forced readers to confront the brutality of American slavery and its continuing influence on the present.
Rather than treating history as something safely confined to the past, Kindred makes that history immediate and deeply personal.
Imagining the Future—and Warning Us About It
In 1993, Butler published Parable of the Sower, a novel set in a collapsing American society struggling with economic inequality, environmental destruction, violence, and weakened institutions.
Its central character, Lauren Olamina, is a young Black woman who develops a philosophy called Earthseed while searching for a way to survive and build a community.
The novel takes place beginning in 2024, making its imagined future particularly striking to modern readers.
Butler followed it with Parable of the Talents in 1998, continuing her examination of social instability, religious extremism, authoritarianism, and the struggle to create a better future.
Her novels were not literal predictions. They were works of speculative fiction that used recognizable social trends to ask difficult questions about where humanity might be headed.
Octavia Butler and Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism brings together African and African diasporic experiences with science fiction, technology, history, mythology, and imaginative visions of the future.
While artists such as Sun Ra and George Clinton explored cosmic identity through music, performance, and futuristic imagery, Butler used literature to investigate power, history, and humanity’s possible futures.
Her novels frequently placed Black women in situations where they had to navigate extraordinary challenges and reshape the societies around them.
Butler’s work is widely discussed within Afrofuturist scholarship, although her literary contributions also extend beyond any single cultural label.
She demonstrated that Black people did not have to remain secondary characters in someone else’s vision of the future.
They could be the architects of entirely new worlds.
Recognition and a Lasting Legacy
Butler received some of science fiction’s most significant honors, including Hugo and Nebula Awards.
In 1995, she became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, often called a genius grant.
Her work also included the Xenogenesis trilogy, later collected as Lilith’s Brood, which explored humanity’s encounter with an extraterrestrial species and raised questions about consent, adaptation, identity, and survival.
Butler died on February 24, 2006, at age 58.
Yet her influence has continued to grow.
Her novels are studied in classrooms, discussed by scholars, and embraced by new generations of readers and creators interested in science fiction, social justice, and Afrofuturism.
A Genius Who Made Us Think Differently About Tomorrow
Octavia E. Butler was more than a science-fiction author.
She was a visionary storyteller who understood that imagining the future also meant examining the past and questioning the present.
Her stories asked readers to consider how power operates, how communities survive, and how human beings might change.
And perhaps her greatest contribution was demonstrating that the future belongs in the imagination of everyone.
Why Octavia E. Butler Belongs in Forgotten Genius Friday
At STM Daily News, our Forgotten Genius Friday series celebrates extraordinary individuals whose ideas, innovations, and accomplishments helped shape our world, even if their stories aren’t widely known. Octavia E. Butler fits that mission perfectly. Although she received prestigious literary awards and recognition during her lifetime, her influence extends far beyond science fiction. Like the inventors, scientists, and trailblazers we’ve featured in this series, Butler challenged barriers, defied expectations, and opened doors for future generations. Through her imagination, she helped redefine who could tell stories about humanity’s future—and who could be at the center of those stories. Her inclusion in Forgotten Genius Friday reminds us that genius isn’t limited to laboratories and inventions. Sometimes, it begins with a pen, a powerful imagination, and the courage to envision a different world.
Sources and fact-checking
The Huntington Library holds Butler’s literary archive and confirms the chronology of her major novels, awards, and career. The MacArthur Foundation independently documents her 1995 fellowship.
- Official Octavia E. Butler biography
- The Huntington — Octavia E. Butler Papers
- MacArthur Foundation — Octavia Butler
- The Huntington — Telling My Stories exhibition
For more stories about overlooked innovators, writers, scientists, and visionaries who changed our world, explore The Knowledge and Forgotten Genius Friday at STM Daily News.
Entertainment
Lights, Camera, Snackers: How Aspiring Filmmakers Can Enter to Win $25,000
The director’s chair is open and the opportunity to create the next great snack-sized movie could be yours. Aspiring filmmakers and creators have the chance to turn a prewritten script into an original short film for a $25,000 prize.
Lights, Camera, Snackers: How Aspiring Filmmakers Can Enter to Win $25,000
(Feature Impact) The director’s chair is open and the opportunity to create the next great snack-sized movie could be yours.
For the second year, Bumble Bee is bringing back its Tuna “Cans”Film Festival, giving aspiring filmmakers and creators the chance to turn a script written by comedian and actress, Grace Reiter, into an original short film starring its deliciously convenient tuna Snackers.
Watch the video to learn more!
“I love a chance to support those starting out in the film industry – and this time, I’m partnering with Bumble Bee for the Tuna Cans Film Festival to do it,” Reiter said. “Plus, I’m making it easy: I already wrote the script.”
Using Reiter’s scripted lines, creators can make the story entirely their own, bringing their vision to life through original characters, settings, music, editing and creative flair.
The creative brief is simple: The finished film must be 60 seconds or less and Bumble Bee Snackers™ need to get their moment in the spotlight.
Plus, the stakes are bigger than ever: The winning filmmaker will take home a $25,000 grand prize to help make their filmmaking dreams a reality.
Creators can submit their original short film by Oct. 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PT.
The film can be funny, dramatic, unexpected or all three. The lines are already written but the order, arrangement and any additions are open to creative interpretation. Now it’s time to see what you can do with it.
Visit tunacansfilmfest.com, where you can find Reiter’s original script, submission instructions and complete contest details, to get started.
SOURCE:
Bumble Bee
Last Updated on October 9, 2026 by Daily News Staff
From haunted mazes after dark to daytime trick-or-treating with Snoopy, Knott’s offers two ways to celebrate Halloween in 2026.
BUENA PARK, Calif. — Halloween season is underway at Knott’s Berry Farm, where visitors can choose between the nighttime frights of Knott’s Scary Farm and the playful daytime activities of Knott’s Spooky Farm.
For readers planning a Southern California outing this October, the two celebrations offer different ways to get into the Halloween spirit.
Scary Farm brings new nightmares after dark
Knott’s Scary Farm runs on select nights through October 31, 2026, transforming the park with haunted mazes, scare zones, shows, and more than 1,000 creatures, according to Knott’s.
Two new mazes join this year’s lineup. Inked turns a cartoonist’s creations into a nightmare, while Unearthed sends visitors into an excavation where an ancient evil has awakened.
Also new for 2026 is Color Collect, an activity in which guests use an interactive lantern to activate pillars around the park and collect six colors.
Scary Farm requires its own paid event admission. As of October 4, online single-night tickets are advertised from $65, with taxes potentially additional. Knott’s does not recommend the event for children under 13.
Spooky Farm offers daytime Halloween fun
For families seeking a gentler celebration, Knott’s Spooky Farm takes place Thursdays through Sundays, September 24–October 31, plus October 12, according to the park’s events calendar, which lists the additional date as Columbus Day.
Children can trick-or-treat through Ghost Town, enjoy games and spooky stories with Snoopy and the Peanuts characters, and show off their Halloween outfits at Snoopy’s Spooktacular Costume Party.
Other activities include the Creepy Critters of Calico, cookie decorating in the pumpkin patch, and performances by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. Cookie decorating carries an additional fee.
The daytime celebration gives families a chance to enjoy Halloween decorations, treats, and entertainment together before the nighttime haunt begins.
Planning your visit
Knott’s Berry Farm is located at 8039 Beach Boulevard in Buena Park, California. Before heading out, check the park’s official calendar for your chosen date, operating hours, admission options, and event policies.
Whether your Halloween plans call for a bag of candy or a trip through a haunted maze, Knott’s has a seasonal celebration to match.
Keep the fun going: Visit STM Daily News for more entertainment news, theme park updates, and stories worth sharing.
Official sources
- Knott’s Scary Farm: attractions and tickets
- Knott’s Spooky Farm: activities and entertainment
- Knott’s Berry Farm: seasonal event dates
Information checked October 4, 2026. Event schedules, offerings, and ticket prices may change.
