Amazon MGM’s Best Bet to Protect James Bond’s Legacy: Hire Christopher Nolan

In the wake of Amazon’s surprise acquisition of creative control over the James Bond franchise from longtime stewards Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the e-commerce giant faces a critical choice: What filmmaker will guide 007 into its new era?

There might be no time to die, but for Amazon, the right choice might be worth waiting for.

According to half a dozen industry insiders that spoke to TheWrap, Christopher Nolan remains both the top choice and the perfect filmmaker to reinvigorate Bond. Last week, another outlet reported that Nolan almost came close to directing a Bond movie after “Tenet,” yet he opted to direct “Oppenheimer” instead because Barbara Broccoli wouldn’t grant him final cut. Nolan is currently filming Universal’s “The Odyssey” which is set for theatrical release on July 17, 2026, so Nolan’s schedule might not align with Amazon’s immediate plans, but waiting for him to complete and release that film could prove extraordinarily lucrative.

“If Amazon wants to preserve the legacy, they should do everything possible to get Chris Nolan and wait for him as long as needed,” a top franchise film producer told TheWrap.

The Oscar- and BAFTA-winning British-American filmmaker has expressed interest in directing a Bond film for years. During the “Oppenheimer” press tour, Nolan told Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast: “The influence of those movies in my filmography is embarrassingly apparent. I love the films… it would be an amazing privilege to do one.”

And it’s true – from the snow fortress siege that served as the climax to “Inception,” borrowed from “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service;” to the airplane heist cold open of “The Dark Knight Rises,” with shades of “License to Kill;” to pretty much all of “Tenet,” which imaged a 007 adventure embroidered with time travel – Bond has been a constant source of inspiration for Nolan. It’s part of his DNA as a filmmaker.

Bond needs more than just a new actor — it needs a comprehensive vision. Nolan and his producer wife Emma Thomas offer that vision

With Amazon MGM now holding creative control of the franchise, which has grossed over $7 billion over six decades, the studio has been presented with a unique opportunity. Nolan’s track record for delivering critically acclaimed blockbusters that also perform exceptionally at the box office is almost unmatched. His involvement could potentially drive opening weekend domestic numbers to record heights, with a global take that could significantly outperform Daniel Craig’s final outing, “No Time to Die.” That film earned most of its revenue internationally ($613 million), which is key because Amazon MGM is currently planning to have its own theatrical international distribution operational by 2026.

Current Amazon MGM leadership under Courtenay Valenti already has a relationship with Nolan, and the studio claims to prioritize filmmakers. If they’re serious about that commitment, waiting for Nolan — who writes his own movies and won’t be free of “The Odyssey” until next summer — makes the most strategic sense.

If there’s one brand that holds more sway with modern audiences than 007, it’s probably Christopher Nolan.

Redefining the Franchise for a New Era

The Bond franchise stands at a pivotal moment. Having killed off Daniel Craig’s Bond in the last film and lost its creative engine that had guided the property since 1962, Bond needs more than just a new actor — it needs a comprehensive vision. Nolan and his producer wife Emma Thomas offer that vision, along with the British pedigree that keeps Bond authentically rooted in its origins while pushing the boundaries of what a modern spy thriller can be.

During the Craig run, EON and Broccoli and Wilson flirted with Bond’s “auteur era.”

This began with the release of “Skyfall,” which the team entrusted to Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of “American Beauty” who at the time was coming off the postage stamp-sized “Away We Go,” a movie that grossed just $15 million. While they didn’t give Mendes final cut, they did work hand-in-hand with him to craft a movie that looked (it was shot by the legendary Roger Deakins) and, more importantly, felt different than any other Bond entry before it.

The results speak for themselves. “Skyfall” was released in conjunction with the 50th anniversary celebration of the franchise. It was the first entry in the series to make over $1 billion. It was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two, including Best Original Song for Adele’s incredible theme song (mystifyingly, this was the first Bond theme song to win).

After much handwringing, Mendes returned for the follow-up, “Spectre,” which ultimately crumbled under the weight of expectation (it was also caught up in the Sony email hack, which revealed some major plot points months before the movie was actually released) but still managed to gross more than $880 million.

EON attempted to continue the auteur streak after Mendes left, hiring Danny Boyle and his “Trainspotting” screenwriter John Hodge to write Bond 25, rumored to be titled “Shatterhand.” That partnership didn’t work out, with Boyle clashing with Broccoli and Wilson on everything from the main villain’s ethnicity to the deliberately Ken Adam-indebted production design, but it remains a tantalizing what-if in Bond history. Cary Joji Fukunaga wound up directing what would eventually become “No Time to Die.”

Hiring Nolan to direct the next Bond could return the franchise to the auteur streak that helped make them make $1 billion on a single movie.

“Given the fact that Nolan has expressed strong desire in the past to direct James Bond and also given the enormous investment Amazon has made in this IP, they should start with Nolan and only Nolan, and do whatever they can – within reason, which is very fluid in our business – to make it work,” a second film producer told TheWrap. “I suspect that they will and I also suspect that there is strong mutual desire to make it happen.”

Worth the Wait

For Amazon, exercising just a little bit more patience could prove extraordinarily valuable. While the streamer is obviously eager to capitalize on its investment, rushing a new Bond film into production, especially without the right creative team, could jeopardize the long-term health of the franchise, and perhaps even kill it. Nolan’s involvement would signal to audiences and the industry that Amazon MGM is committed to maintaining Bond’s prestige despite the changing of the guard from the Broccoli family.

With Nolan’s critical and commercial triumph “Oppenheimer,” which grossed nearly $1 billion globally and won Nolan his first Oscar(s), his stock has never been higher. The timing for this marriage makes sense from a broader industry perspective as well.

According to one insider, part of the reason why Nolan hasn’t done a 007 entry before is that he wanted to help pick the actor who would be essaying the role of the suave spy and Craig stayed in the franchise for so long. Now that Craig is gone and the franchise is, once again, getting a reboot, the planets could be aligning for all of Nolan’s dreams to come true.

The current fear around town is that the Bond property will be exploited in the same way that Lucasfilm turned “Star Wars,” a title that you had to wait years (if not longer) to enjoy on the big screen, into something that you could regularly experience on television, in animation and at theme parks around the world. Treating a beloved IP like a factory backfired — the “Star Wars” film franchise is in a state of limbo and Disney has scaled back its overly ambitious TV plans after a few fumbles.

The studio has yet to announce any plans and can’t formally make a move until the deal to secure creative control closes this year, but there have been rumblings of a Bond TV series for years.

As major studios increasingly struggle to justify theatrical release windows in the streaming era, a Nolan-directed Bond film represents the kind of “event cinema” that reliably draws audiences to theaters across the globe. For Amazon, which paid a king’s ransom to secure creative control of Bond beyond its $8.5 billion MGM acquisition, betting on Nolan’s vision could ensure the franchise remains not only relevant, but also profitable for years to come.

The question then becomes: Will Amazon exercise the patience needed to secure cinema’s most in-demand filmmaker for its most valuable IP? In the current environment where guaranteed theatrical hits are becoming few and far between, waiting for Nolan might just be the smartest play in the streamer’s long game for Bond’s future.

You only have the chance to make a first impression once.

For Amazon, the choice is clear: Rushing production with a lesser director would leave audiences shaken. But waiting for Nolan? That would leave them stirred.

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