James Bond may get his next set of gadgets delivered in a brown cardboard box by an Amazon courier – after the Broccoli family signed over creative control to Jeff Bezos’s company yesterday.

The 007 films will no longer be produced by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, the daughter and stepson of Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli who launched the British spy franchise in 1962.

The pair are stepping down after 30 years and handing over the keys to the franchise to Amazon MGM Studios, which was formed when the tech firm bought Bond’s parent studio in 2022.

Following the deal Mr Bezos asked his followers on X who should be cast as the next 007. 

Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise, 62, was among fans’ favourite candidates as well as British actors James McAvoy, 45, and Henry Cavill, 41.

The deal follows months of speculation over creative tensions between Amazon and the Broccolis on how to move the story forward four years after Daniel Craig’s last outing as the spy in No Time to Die.

It raises the prospect of Bond – based on novels by Ian Fleming – going the way of other franchises that have been bought out by entertainment giants.

Star Wars owner LucasFilm was acquired by Disney in 2012 for £3.2 billion, which led to a wave of sequels, series and spin-offs.

And critics say the door is now open for Bond characters such as Q, MI6’s tech expert, and Miss Moneypenney, secretary to the head of the service, to get their own TV shows.

But some fans fear it could go the way of Doctor Who, which has been criticised for increasingly woke storylines after Disney acquired global distribution rights to the series in 2022. 

It was reported that Ms Broccoli, 64, had told friends she did not trust Amazon with the character and had described the status of the next Bond instalment in dire terms – with no script, no story and no new 007.

In December, The Wall Street Journal reported she had told friends ‘these people are f***ing idiots’ in relation to Amazon.

Yesterday Ms Broccoli and Mr Wilson, 83, announced they had struck a deal with Amazon for a joint venture on the films’ intellectual property rights – which crucially gave up creative control over the franchise. 

Mr Bezos’s firm has held distribution rights over all Bond films since it acquired MGM for more than £5 billion in 2022.

Never have one family had such control over a movie franchise and insiders said the Broccolis’ 20th Century Hollywood vision clashed with the tech giant’s approach led by streaming subscriptions.

Announcing his departure, Mr Wilson said he was stepping back to focus on ‘art and charitable projects’.

Ms Broccoli, 64, said: ‘My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father. 

'I have had the honour of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry.

‘With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.’

Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, thanked the pair for their ‘unyielding dedication’ said the firm was honoured to continue the films’ ‘treasured heritage’.