Justin Kroll for Deadline has the shocking story:

In news that will surely send shock waves through the industry, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are longtime producers of the James Bond franchise are stepping back in the creative process and handing over control to Amazon MGM Studios. The new venture was announced by the studio along with Wilson, and Broccoli today that they have formed a new joint venture to house the James Bond intellectual property rights, and those parties will remain co-owners of the franchise. Under the terms of the new venture, Amazon MGM Studios will gain creative control of the James Bond franchise following closing of the transaction.

Basically, Jeff Bezos, a real-life James Bond villain, owns the James Bond franchise. Sigh.

There has been all kinds of tension and bad-mouthing between Wilson and Broccoli and Amazon MGM since Amazon bought MGM for $8.45 billion. I thought for sure Wilson and Broccoli would force Amazon and Bezos to sell the rights to Bond to a third party, but it looks like they found some sort of compromise. I’m dismayed that they gave up full creative control.

In my opinion, Amazon has mismanaged the Tolkien property with a ridiculously expensive television show that people hate-watch. I don’t anticipate this franchise going any better. It feels like a disaster waiting to happen.

Imagine… coming soon to Amazon Prime: The James Bond Universe (JBU)

• MI6 Series
• Female Double-O spin-off series from the MI6 show
• Origin stories for Q, M, Moneypenny, Leiter, etc.
• Deep personal stories about Jaws or Oddjob explaining why they are henchmen written just like Joker.
• Young James Bond

I could keep going, but this is making me depressed.