The future of 007 including the next film, the actors and storyline are in limbo as Amazon takes control of the franchise from the Broccoli dynasty.

The BBC reports that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson are stepping down and Amazon MGM Studios is taking control of the Bond venture.

Amazon, Broccoli and Wilson have announced a joint venture to manage the intellectual property rights with Amazon gaining creative control.

Amazon bought the Bond’s parent studio in 2022 for a reported US$8.5 billion.

The changeover increases speculation that will be several years before the next Bond movie hits cinemas.

No Time To Die, the 25th in the Bond series, came out four years ago in 2021.

The series now looks set for the longest pause in its history, with no new Bond actor selected to succeed Daniel Craig.

The change of control has seen Amazon founder Jeff Bezos crowdsource a potential Bond actor replacement. “Who’d you pick as the next Bond?”

James Norton, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Regé-Jean Page, and Paul Mescal are cited as leading contenders. All are English except Mescal who is Irish.

One delicate question is on people’s lips. Is an American company in the best position to keep developing Bond, who is a quintessential smooth-operating yet tough British spy?

Would these new age actors have the charisma of a Sean Connery or a Roger Moore. One Australian actor, George Lazenby, played Bond in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.

The Bond films were originally launched by Albert “Cubby” Broccoli in 1962 and later handed to Barbara Broccoli, his daughter, and Wilson, his stepson.

Barbara Broccoli, now 64, told the BBC she had the honour of working with four of the Bond actors.

“With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects,” she told the BBC.