Remember the chatter that Amazon shelled out something like a billion bucks to pry James Bond loose from EON? Yeah, about that. The actual cash number EON just put on paper is... $20 million. Not a typo. Twenty. Million.
The $20 million twist
EON Productions filed an earnings report in the UK confirming that, on 20 February 2025, it agreed to sell its stake in the Bond franchise to Amazon MGM Studios. That sale included the Bond rights, the related assets, and EON subsidiaries B24 Limited and B25 Limited. The total consideration listed: $20 million USD.
Deadline adds that the deal may also include Amazon stock options, which could change the math, but the cash figure in the filing is still a shocker given earlier reports that pegged the payout around $1 billion. Either way, Amazon got into MI6 for what looks, on paper, like couch-cushion money.
How we got here
When Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion in 2022, they effectively inherited James Bond. The plan was to fire up new 007 movies ASAP. The snag: creative disagreements with longtime Bond stewards Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli at EON slowed everything down. Earlier this year, Amazon cut a deal that gave Amazon MGM Studios creative control of the franchise for the foreseeable future, clearing EON from the driver's seat. Now we know what EON says it got for that: $20 million, plus whatever stock component might exist.
So who is making the next Bond?
Amazon MGM Studios has been moving quickly on their first post-EON 007. They brought in Amy Pascal (Pascal Pictures) and David Heyman (Heyday Films) to produce, with Denis Villeneuve set to direct. Villeneuve is still deep in Arrakis right now: his Dune Messiah adaptation is dated for December 16, 2026, so while he is off finishing that, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is writing the Bond script.
"Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007. I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery. I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor. Amy, David, and I are absolutely thrilled to bring him back to the screen. Thank you to Amazon MGM Studios for their trust."
Meanwhile, the streaming side keeps stepping on rakes
On Prime Video, Amazon has already taken some heat for its presentation of the old Bond films. First they scrubbed guns from the digital posters, then they just started cropping them out. For Bond. Bold strategy.
Where this leaves 007 right now
- Amazon MGM Studios has creative control of the Bond franchise after a February 20, 2025 sale by EON that EON says totaled $20 million in cash for rights, assets, and subsidiaries B24/B25 (potential Amazon stock options may also be involved).
- Amy Pascal and David Heyman are producing the next Bond movie.
- Denis Villeneuve is directing; Steven Knight is writing the script while Villeneuve finishes Dune Messiah (dated December 16, 2026).
- No casting, plot, or release date details yet for Bond’s return, but the machine is clearly warming up.
Big picture: Amazon paid $8.5 billion for MGM, then reportedly just $20 million to end decades of EON oversight and take Bond in-house. For a character this valuable, that is wildly low... unless those stock options are doing some heavy lifting behind the scenes.