James Bond, An Amazon MGM Property – Will They Turn The Franchise Into A TV Series Like Lord of the Rings?

Getting Shaken And Stirred On The Small Screen

Let’s be honest, it was only a matter of time before yet another big franchise, in this case, James Bond, was pulled into Amazon’s clutches. Being one of the biggest companies in the world, Amazon is no stranger to eyeing huge movie hits to add to their collection, with the last franchise they bought being The Lord of the Rings back in 2017. Quite understandably, a lot of James Bond fans are alarmed by this latest development, with some believing that Amazon might not fully understand the essence of the franchise.

What they did with The Lord of the Rings, of course, won’t bring Bond fans a lot of solace. Although many were excited that Tolkien’s universe was to be transformed into a television series, by the time The Rings of Power was broadcast, most were left feeling deflated. While the show has its positives, it’s hard to say that it captured the brilliance of the original source material – in many ways, it felt like a departure from what made The Lord of the Rings so special, relying on new characters and elements that simply didn’t exist in Tolkien’s books. So will the same be true for Bond if it’s turned into a TV series?…

The Pros of a Bond TV Series

First of all, there’s been no word on whether James Bond will receive the same treatment as The Lord of the Rings. Yes, Amazon seems to excel in the TV series arena, but even more than Tolkien’s work, James Bond has always been a character for the big screen, generating over $7 billion in worldwide box office revenue. 

With that being said, there are some potential positives to the beloved character making the switch. Back when we first saw Bond on the big screen, he was sitting in a neat tuxedo playing a game of baccarat in a luxurious casino. This captured the type of viewer that Bond was meant for: the sophisticated, suave, and elegant audience that appreciated more than just action and adventure. In 2025, however, Bond’s audience has changed. Not many people play in land-based casinos dressed in suits anymore, they play in an online casino, with the world itself revolving around the online space and digital experiences. 

With this in mind, by transitioning James Bond into the world of streaming, Amazon MGM could embrace this shift and offer the character to a more diverse, online, tech-savvy generation. In other words, they can evolve the character with the times and tap more effectively into the current market. It’s already evident, of course, that fewer people are going to cinemas due to the rise of streaming services, so there’s nothing stopping Amazon from pushing this trend further by placing one of the biggest cinema icons more firmly into the online space. 

The Cons of a Bond TV Series

As we mentioned before, however, whether this will happen or not remains to be seen. If The Rings of Power had been an enormous success, we could certainly have seen Amazon heading in this direction, but the truth is, the $1 billion show was not a roaring success. Yes, season three has been confirmed, but both installments so far have received mixed reviews, with only a 37% completion rate in the US and 45% internationally. As a result, anything further they do with the franchise will be tainted, and the same can be said of Disney’s management of the Star Wars franchise.

 In 2025, Star Wars content is hugely oversaturated, to the point where new movies have become a missable experience rather than must-see box office smashes. Amazon MGM will want to avoid that happening with James Bond. While there are ways the franchise can be updated, Amazon will want to ensure as many people as possible stay on board, and to do that, they’ll need to play it safe. Keep James Bond as a cinema event. Keep the character as close to the books as possible. And if they do this, there’s every chance our beloved Bond will have a few more missions in him yet.