With the James Bond franchise now under the control of Amazon, a few directors are no longer as excited about the prospect of helming a 007 movie. Osgood Perkins, who has become one of the most bankable horror filmmakers thanks to hits like “Longlegs” and “The Monkley,” recently took part in a Reddit AMA (via IndieWire) and was asked: “Are you open to directing a Bond movie/trilogy? If so, who would you cast as your version of Bond?”
Perkins immediately shot down the question by answering: “No, because fuck Jeff Bezos.”
Amazon MGM Studios and longtime Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced in late February a new joint venture to house the 007 intellectual property rights. Under the venture, the three parties are co-owners of the franchise, but it is Amazon MGM that gets the creative control of the franchise. Bezos, the founder of Amazon and its current executive chair, reacted to the news by asking his followers on X to select the next James Bond actor.
While Perkins directing a Bond movie might be considered a stretch, one filmmaker whose name has come up a ton in the rumor mill is Edward Berger. The German director behind Oscar winners “Conclave” and “All Quiet on the Western Front” was rumored to be in talks with Broccoli and Wilson prior to Amazon’s takeover. He denied the talks while speaking to Variety’s Marc Malkin on the 2025 Oscars red carpet and said that Amazon being in control of 007 has shifted his interest in joining the franchise.
“Barbara Broccoli is no longer doing it and she is at the heart of this project, so I think it’s something different,” Berger said when asked if he’d direct a Bond movie. “I don’t know. Things have changed. We will certainly miss her very much.”
Berger added that he was “100%” interested in Bond when Broccoli was in control of the franchise, but “now it’s a different equation. I don’t know what the future is going to look like. I am going to think about it if anyone calls me, but Barbara is at the heart of this. If she is no longer there it becomes a different thing.”
Amazon has yet to announce its plans for the future of the Bond franchise.
