For 62 years, the James Bond franchise is one of the surest things in the film industry. The character created by novelist Ian Fleming is an indelible figure in global popular culture; Almost everyone has heard of the MI6 agent with a license to kill, to the point where they know his favorite drink order. The property has had periods of decline (the lowest being the period between Timothy Dalton's box office disappointment License to Kill and Pierce Brosnan's 007 debut in Goldeneye ), but it has never lasted more than one film. Every generation has grown up on one James Bond or another, and the debate over who did it best is one of the more enjoyable discussions in the film world - primarily because most people can agree that no one has done it badly.

Lately, the main Bond speculation has been about who will succeed Daniel Craig as James Bond after he offers a very final farewell to the character in 2021's No Time to Die. Since it's been three years, and the longest period between films was the aforementioned five-year hiatus separating Dalton and Brosnan, fans have become understandably concerned about the lack of announcement of anything to do with the new Bond film. There is no new 007, no director, no screenwriters and no semblance of a post-Craig plan.

According to a just published article from The Wall Street Journalfans shouldn't get their hopes up for a new movie going into production anytime soon, as Amazon Studios and Bond producer Barbara Broccoli are deadlocked on which way to go forward. As of now, they don't speak to us. Who is to blame?

When Amazon Studios plunked down $6.5 billion to buy MGM in 2021, it did so with high hopes of capitalizing on the studio's numerous franchises such as Rocky, Legally Blonde and The Pink Panther. The crown jewel, of course, was James Bond, which was entering a new phase and thus seemed ripe for expansion.

Barbara Broccoli, who inherited the franchise from her father Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, has very particular ideas about who and what James Bond should be. It will always be British and will not be treated as a booming industry that can be built and sold in any way until the property dries up of value. So when Amazon Studios honcho Jennifer Salke started floating ideas for a movie centered around M's secretary, Miss Pennypenny (who would become part of the action as portrayed by Naomie Harris in the Craig movies) and the spinoff TV series, Broccoli, which has the last say what to do with Bond creatively, close it.

In the WSJ article, an unnamed source quotes Broccoli as saying, "These people are idiots."

Broccoli apparently operates on a business axiom uttered by her father: "Don't let temporary people make permanent decisions." Given that Bond has basically been a family-run broccoli business since the administration of John F. Kennedy the broccoli is fiercely protective of the character. She is proud of the films and clearly bristled when Salke called them "content" - which should be a dirty word to anyone who cares about film when used in connection with the making of art.

So it's safe to say that Broccoli won't be moving forward with Amazon Studios under Salke unless she's willing to take her hands off the goods and let her run the movies like she's been used to doing for decades. What does this mean for the future?

If Amazon Studios isn't ready to turn the Bond franchise into a Marvel Cinematic Universe-inspired movie and streaming factory, I don't think there's any way it's going to move forward with Broccoli. Her business is Bond. Every creative decision will be made under her watch. And while she has proven flexible over the years when it comes to employment prestigious directors like Sam Mendes (who won't be back) and Cary Joji Fukunaga, and by allowing writers other than longtime 007 scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Waid to contribute to the scripts, she won't let Amazon Studios grow the franchise by algorithm. The James Bond films may not be high art, but they are a significant part of film history; fans of the film still flock to them, so Broccoli has every reason to use his power. And Amazon Studios, which has a bad track record of late (just look at its recent overpriced, not quite a flop "Red One", or, better yet, not), he needs to know when to keep his distance.

Unfortunately, the people who swallowed the tech industry Kool-Aid tend to be disturbingly arrogant and used to getting their own way, so the only likely result here will be a breakup—ie. Amazon Studios will have to find a buyer for Bond. Since he'll be selling from a compromised position (having everyone in town know he has no choice but to take the property down), he's unlikely to get much for the character. Broccoli will also have a good say in the franchise's destination, as no one is going to spend a dollar on 007 if they think she won't be receptive to their ideas. She probably wouldn't want to deal with notorious troublemaker (and clown) David Zaslav at Warner Bros., so a franchise company like Sony or Paramount would make sense.

More on the future of James Bond as it develops.