The James Bond franchise continues to be a landmark of cinema, and now Amazon is set to usher in a brand-new era. While Amazon has controlled the James Bond franchise since 2022 after it acquired MGM, the studio now has full creative control with longtime steward Barbara Broccoli stepping aside. Now, Amazon is moving forward quickly with its vision for James Bond, with Harry Potter producer David Heyman and Amy Pascal, behind the Spider-Man films, now in charge of its creative future.
James Bond set the blueprint for franchise reinvention with so many actors and filmmakers taking a crack at 007 over the years. Still, Amazon will likely shake up the film series drastically in the same way Disney handled Star Wars over a decade ago. Rumors suggest Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban‘s Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón will be the next filmmaker to put his stamp on James Bond. The 007 franchise has always operated as a film series, but now that Amazon has full control, it’s bound to join others and expand into television, animation, and more. No Time To Die was the last James Bond film released, and Daniel Craig’s sendoff was a financial and critical success. As Amazon enters a new era with James Bond, it will need to find new ways to rejuvenate the storied spy series and do things that have never been done before to achieve success.
No James Bond Film Has Received an R-rating Before
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Actors Who Have Portrayed James Bond |
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Sean Connery |
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David Niven |
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George Lazenby |
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Roger Moore |
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Timothy Dalton |
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Pierce Brosnan |
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Daniel Craig |
The James Bond films have gone through different iterations over the years and featured plenty of campy moments early on before shifting to a more grounded tone during the Craig era. Part of the franchise’s charm is how it has maintained certain signatures that have made it one of the most iconic in film history. The opening credits with a song inspired by the film is a tradition that should never die. Teasing James Bond’s return at the end of the credits is another staple.
However, no James Bond film has ever carried an R-rating, a surprising fact given the nature of them. One of the major reasons why the James Bond films have stayed away from the adult rating is because it does limit the audience who can see the film. The James Bond films are also designed as blockbusters with massive budgets tied to them, so an R-rating has traditionally been a riskier approach. The closest a James Bond film ever came to earning an R-rating was with License to Kill in 1989. After receiving the rating from the MPAA, several changes occurred to have it fall under the PG-13 class. This time around under Amazon, the studios should aim for the adult rating to reboot the series.
James Bond Films Lend Themselves to an R Rating
- The James Bond franchise is no stranger to sex scenes and violence.
- Making an R-rated James Bond film would be a natural progression from where the Craig era took the series, starting with the opening moments of Casino Royale.
James Bond films are sexy and violent, but what sets them apart from the spy films that have followed is that they also carry a sense of elegance. All these things can remain true with an R-rated James Bond film. Moreover, pushing James Bond to its limits would allow for more creative freedom and allow the next film to fully embrace all that comes with the character. The nudity wouldn’t have to be excessive, and the violence doesn’t have to be grotesque, but moving toward a higher rating would make the character feel more real than ever before.
With an R-rating, James Bond can also operate in a more realistic world and deal with darker matters that have serious consequences. It’s a simple change that would allow the next filmmaker in charge to dive deeper into the classic elements that make up James Bond. The action sequences in the James Bond films have always set a high bar, and with an R-rating, they can become even more brutal and raise the stakes higher than ever. The James Bond films have gotten away with a lot under the PG-13 rating and Amazon can continue to go in that same direction, but that could hold the next iteration of films back from today’s times. The Craig films took James Bond in a more realistic direction off the heels of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Now, James Bond can finally take that next step and enter the rated R world, a jump that would feel natural for the franchise since it already has plenty of adult themes that have contributed to its iconography.
R-rated films Have Become More Successful
- Deadpool & Wolverine became the second R-rated film to gross over a billion dollars, proving they can be just as successful as PG-13 films.
- The James Bond brand is as recognizable as the MCU’s, a necessary safety net to go in the bold creative direction.
James Bond films are first and foremost tent pole films meant to attract a wide audience. This means they tend to have a massive globe-trotting scope that requires a high budget. Therefore, Amazon may be reluctant to go in an R-rated direction, but there are now numerous examples of films in recent years that have proved blockbusters geared toward adults can have major box office success. Just last year, Marvel Studios released its first R-rated film with Deadpool & Wolverine, which went on to earn over a billion dollars. Oppenheimer is another R-rated film that nearly crossed a billion, and that wasn’t an action film. Within the action-thriller genre, the John Wick and Kingsman films have also reached success in ways the James Bond series can follow.
Audiences are more mature now than ever and with James Bond still being one of the most iconic film series, the brand could be enough to sell them. Today, what matters more is the creative direction a franchise may go into to make it feel fresh. A more mature James Bond might be exactly what Amazon needs to do to let audiences know how it will stand apart from the Craig films, beloved in their own right. Plus, Amazon may need to realize that James Bond films should focus more on its older fans of the franchise than the new generation. James Bond films have never been the family-friendly affair a PG-13 film typically suggests. The James Bond franchise has survived as long as it has because it has evolved with the moviegoing market. Embracing an R-rating won’t necessarily result in lower financial gains like they might’ve in the past since other blockbusters have performed in recent years.
The James Bond franchise wouldn’t be as renowned as it stands if it didn’t take bold swings. While the franchise should still maintain certain traditions, such as the iconic 007 theme, the expected tropes, and familiar supporting characters, Amazon will need to find a way to make its first James Bond film stand apart from what’s come before in the process. Some have suggested James Bond should become a female character, or that the series should follow an American spy, but those ideas stray too far away from what James Bond is all about.
That’s why it makes far more sense for the next James Bond installment to finally enter the R-rated territory instead. The direction would give the filmmakers far more creative freedom by doing things never seen in the previous 27 films. Additionally, an R-rated James Bond film can still maintain the tastefulness that has become a key characteristic of the series and simultaneously reinvent 007 once again for a modern audience with a more mature sensibility.
