Daniel Craig breaks silence on Amazon's 'OO7' move

Daniel Craig, the iconic face of James Bond for over a decade, has weighed in on Amazon’s takeover of the franchise.

For the unversed, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli proclaimed on Thursday, February 20, that they will step back from the James Bond franchise and give creative control to Amazon MGM.

While conversing with Variety, the 56-year-old actor revealed he admires the film’s producers, Wilson and Broccoli, and his respect for them remains "undiminished."

Craig said, “My respect, admiration, and love for Barbara and Michael remain constant and undiminished.” 

“I wish Michael a long, relaxing (and well-deserved) retirement and whatever ventures Barbara goes on to do, I know they will be spectacular and I hope I can be part of them,” he added.

Notably, Amazon MGM, Wilson, and Broccoli have made a deal to share the rights of the 007 franchise.

They will still co-own the franchise, but Amazon MGM will have creative control over new projects.

In 2021, Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion, which gave it the rights to distribute all James Bond movies, but it only owned 50% of the franchise and had no control over creative decisions.

Since Craig’s last movie as James Bond in 2021, No Time to Die, there has been a lot of talk about what will happen next, but no official announcements were made then.

It is pertinent to mention that Daniel Craig has played James Bond in five movies, namely Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021).