Amazon MGM Studios boss Mike Hopkins has opened up about the future of James Bond, saying the team behind 007’s next big-screen outing is focused on making the character “relevant” for a new era.
Appearing on Variety‘s Strictly Business podcast, Hopkins – head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios – addressed the studio’s plans for the long-running spy franchise, following Amazon’s acquisition of MGM and the subsequent creative shake-up behind Bond 26.
“It was a big part of our pursuit of MGM, was this franchise,” Hopkins said, making clear just how central 007 was to Amazon’s interest in the historic studio.
The next Bond film will mark the first new entry in the franchise since Daniel Craig bowed out as 007 in 2021’s No Time to Die, with the search for his replacement now officially underway.
Hopkins said the first step had been to assemble the right creative team for the new era.
“The first step was, ‘Let’s hire the best people in the world to bring this new story to life, this new chapter in the Bond franchise,'” he explained.
“So between Denis and Amy and David Heyman and Steven Knight writing the script, we feel like we’ve got a world-class storytelling team there working with us.”
Dune and Arrival filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is attached to direct the next Bond film, with Amy Pascal and David Heyman producing. Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is writing the script.
Hopkins suggested there is still plenty of work to do before 007 returns to screens, with the studio still mapping out what Bond should look like in the years ahead.
“The second thing is, we are gonna try and figure out, how does James Bond get into the next chapter and then be relevant for customers for a long period of time,” he said. “And so there was still a lot of work to do.
“We’re sort of in the bottom half of the first inning of bringing this to life.”
While a title, release date and new Bond actor have yet to be announced, Amazon MGM Studios recently confirmed that “the search for the next James Bond is underway”, though it will not be commenting on specific casting details during the process.
Despite Prime Video’s involvement, Hopkins also indicated that Bond’s future remains firmly tied to the cinema.
“We’ve made a big investment in theatrical,” he said of the franchise’s big-screen legacy. “I would be shocked if that were any different with James Bond in the future.”
The new film will also mark the beginning of a very different era behind the camera, after longtime Bond custodians Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson struck a deal for Amazon MGM Studios to take creative control of the franchise. The pair, who had overseen 007 since 1995 following decades of Broccoli family stewardship, remain co-owners of the Bond rights but have stepped back from day-to-day creative duties, leaving Amazon to steer the spy series’ next big-screen reinvention.
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