Timothy Dalton has revealed he is “sad” at the prospect of James Bond falling into the hands of Amazon.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Dalton, who played 007 in The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill, lamented the idea of a British icon being under the creative control of an American company.
“It is one of the few wonderful stories we’ve got in film that is British. The leading character is British. We can call it our own,” said the actor, who is on the promotion trail for 1923.
Amazon MGM Studios’ $1B deal with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to seize the creative reins of Bond sent shockwaves through the industry last week.
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Dalton said Bond would miss Broccoli’s unique touch, which has seen her carefully marshal the brand and resist the temptation to turn Ian Fleming’s hero into “content” with endless spin-offs.
“Barbara is one of the best women in the whole world. I think she’s fantastic. Around a Bond movie, everyone’s got an opinion. That tends to make something less special, but if you keep it to people who know what they’re doing and know what they want, then it will sharpen up and be good. Barbara had that,” Dalton explained.
He added: “I have no idea what Amazon would do with it, and I have no idea what the relationship of Amazon to the Broccolis will be. But it is a damn fine series of movies. I was watching it when I was young, we all were. It’s been part of our lives, so anything that threatens it is kind of sad.”
Dalton said it was essential that Amazon MGM Studios cast a British actor as Bond because “that’s where it was born, that’s what the stories are.” The company is already thinking about the next iteration of the MI6 agent, with founder Jeff Bezos canvassing his social media followers about who should play the character.
Ever since Daniel Craig exited James Bond after No Time to Die in 2021, there has been wild speculation over who will step into the shoes of 007. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, James Norton, Damson Idris, Theo James, and Josh O’Connor have all been linked to the role. Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, and Henry Cavill have also been mooted.
Following the deal, Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, paid homage to Bond’s heritage. “Since his theatrical introduction over 60 years ago, James Bond has been one of the most iconic characters in filmed entertainment … We are honored to continue this treasured heritage, and look forward to ushering in the next phase of the legendary 007 for audiences around the world.”
Dalton concluded: “Everyone who’s got anything to do with it will be working very hard to make it a hit. Amazon are quite capable of making it a hit.”
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