Amazon is final talks to assign the James Bond franchise’s license to thrill to not one but two producers.
Former studio head turned producer Amy Pascal and Harry Potter producer David Heyman are in talks to oversee and run the storied British spy franchise for Amazon, sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter.
Amazon had no comment on the deal.
The move comes as the tech retailer and streamer tries to close a deal to take over creative control from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the producers whose family has been producing 007 movies since the 1960s.
Bond was a key, perhaps, the key, reason Amazon acquired MGM/UA and its library for $8.45 billion in 2021. But Broccoli and Wilson, via their company Eon, retained a significant amount of control over Bond, including when to pull the Walther PPK trigger on the next movie. Thus, the company then reportedly paid upwards of an additional $1 billion earlier this year
It is unclear how far along the talks are progressing, but sources say the two are far down the path. And while it’s unclear what the structure of this Bond entity will be, sources also say that Pascal could be the lead producer-executive.
Amazon Studios senior VP, Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke and head of film and streaming Courtenay Valenti were all involved in the hunt for the overseers.
Both Pascal and Heyman bring unique skill sets to the 007 world.
Pascal was a longtime Columbia and Sony Pictures head, becoming co-chairperson of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which included oversight of the TV division. After being let go in during the Sony hack scandal, she emerged as a forceful producer in her own right. She has produced Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films and the award-winning Into the Spider-Verse animated movies, as well dramas such as Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women and Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, which was made by Amazon MGM.
Heyman brings the British accent to the proceedings and will keep at least one of 007’s feet across the pond and in touch with his Britannia origins. Heyman is best known for guiding the Harry Potter movie franchise across eight successful movies. (The post-Potter era has been less successful with its Fantastic Beasts movies.)
Heyman has also produced the acclaimed (and very British) Paddington movies and worked with Quentin Tarantino on the filmmaker’s Oscar-winning Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Puck was the first to report Pascal and Heyman’s involvement with Bond.