Some are assuming that Amazon’s new creative control over the James Bond movies might be a bad thing – with the faceless creatives developing wildly diverse “content” for multiple demographics. Who wouldn’t love a stop-frame animation of “James Bond and his Spy Puppies“?

A cracking good film is all fans really need. But if there has to be a Bondverse, what would that look like?

Movies are rife with them today. Whether it’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the Monsterverse, the idea of having your stories connect in some way to make a grander storyline is all the rage. So much so that young viewers are likely to think it’s the only way to go. Which is sad for many reasons, especially if younger viewers try to make the existing 25 Bond films into one continuity!

EON didn’t want to use this model, but let’s play What Would Amazon Do? Slightly adapted from a Reel Anarchy article I wrote back in 2021:

1. YOUNG BOND.

Adapt Charlie Higson‘s hugely successful Bond books for the small screen. Appeal to the younger adventurers in the audience. Live action? Animation? Like Netflix’s “Carmen Sandiego“? Or “Invincible” with espionage.

2. DOUBLE O.

A period thriller set in the sixties, following new agents on their first missions with more seasoned operatives. The adventures the other Double-O agents has when Bond was off elsewhere. Then season two would be in the eighties. Then season three… Today?

3. LEITER.

The adventures of the some time CIA agent who works with Bond. Make it an international tale. With LEITER training new agents. Or chasing corrupt agents.

4. JINX.

Fans may remember that for a short time the producers toyed with the idea of having Halle Berry appear in a spin-off movie with her character from  Die Another Day. Why not try it now? Halle Berry was excellent in John Wick Parabellum. Perhaps she is on the run. Perhaps pursued by LEITER in a series crossover?

Dammit, get Dave Bautista back and we can have Hinx/Jinx!

5. QUANTUM TO SKYFALL.

For me, the Bond we saw in Skyfall seemed a lot more seasoned than the rookie we saw develop in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. It felt like we had missed our a few adventures between films. So why not explore them now? A limited series with a new actor playing Daniel Craig’s Bond after Quantum, defeating new enemies and suspecting – alongside a returning Judi Dench (why not?) – that a new international enemy is growing.

And finally. Star Trek had success with PICARD, where Patrick Stewart returned as an older Jean-Luc, so why not do something similar with Bond:

6. JAMES BOND: NEVER MISS.

Pierce Brosnan returns as an older Bond in retirement who has to come back into the field because… Well you get my drift. And bring back David Arnold to compose the score.

We have Slow Horses, Black Doves, The Night Agent and Paradise on TV, and Mission Impossible, The Amateur and Black Bag in cinemas.

‘Spy-Time’ is clearly alive and well. So what’s next for this new iteration of James Bond?

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A version of this article was first published on Reel Anarchy.