Jeff Bezos could accomplish what Dr. No, Blofeld and Goldfinger never could: put James Bond out of commission forever.

Bezos, who often looks like he might be cosplaying a Bond villain, owns Amazon, of course, and Amazon owns the James Bond film library, ever since the company purchased MGM Studios in 2022.

Amazon’s ownership rights put them at an impasse with Barbara Broccoli, the producer of the 007 franchise, who does not feel Amazon is the right home for James Bond, according to a story published by the Wall Street Journal.

Broccoli owns the copyright to all of the Bond films, and has the final say on script, casting and even when a film can go into production, and she is not happy to get production notes from a company better known for selling consumer merchandise than it is for producing films, according to the WSJ. She has reportedly called the Amazon execs “fucking idiots.”

The article states that Broccoli “has told friends she doesn’t trust algorithm-centric Amazon with a character she helped to mythologize through big-screen storytelling and gut instinct,” Amazon executives allegedly approached Broccoli about the possibility of creating Bond TV spin-offs, reportedly causing her to ask them, “Did you read the contract?”

In addition to saying no to new James Bond “content,” a term she objected to, Broccoli is said to have been adamant that the next Bond must be British, and a man. (Everything else is negotiable, apparently.)

What this means for Bond fans is that even if a replacement for outgoing 007 Daniel Craig is selected, production of the next film is stayed indefinitely, because Broccoli retains the ability to “hold Bond hostage from Amazon for as long as she sees fit” given her creative control over the films. 

The last 007 adventure, No Time to Die, was released in 2021. Currently, there are no new Bond films in any stage of pre-production.