The spy who left me: Bond's next mission in the hands of Amazon

James Bond has fallen into the hands of a billionaire's business empire, after Amazon revealed that it has acquired "creative control" of the spy franchise from the Broccoli dynasty.

- Rob Davies Andrew Pulver

Amazon MGM Studios said yesterday that it had struck a deal with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, the British-American heirs to the legendary film producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and longtime stewards of the Bond films.

A spokesperson for Amazon said the financial terms of the deal were for their eyes only.

But the world's second largest corporation, by revenue, confirmed that it had formed a joint venture with Wilson and Broccoli to house the James Bond intellectual property, with Amazon assuming "creative control".

Within hours of the deal, Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and the world's second richest man, was asking followers for casting advice via the social media platform X, owned by the world's richest man, Elon Musk. He asked: "Who'd you pick as the next Bond?"

The agreement could open the door to production starting on a long-awaited new film and to an avalanche of spin-off shows for the Amazon Prime streaming service.

The deal is not thought to be related to a Dubai-based property developer's audacious attempt, revealed by the Guardian last week, to seize the James Bond trademark across a range of goods and services.