That fiercely-defended stewardship is reportedly in part why there has not been much public forward progress on the casting of a new actor to play Bond, after Daniel Craig departed the series with the release of No Time to Die in 2021. Last December, a report by the Wall Street Journal alleged that Broccoli and Wilson’s relationship with Amazon since the purchase of MGM Studios had “collapsed,” as the involved parties failed to establish trust that Amazon could develop a new Bond movie–with Broccoli allegedly telling people close to her that she believed that Amazon executives were “fucking idiots.”

The lack of progress on a new Bond movie since 2021, as well as constant pushback from Broccoli and Wilson over just what kind of actors the team were looking for to become the new 007, recently lead to an outlandish claim at staking ownership over the franchise. This past week, it was reported that Austrian businessman Josef Kleindienst had made several legal filings in Europe in an attempt to gain the rights to Bond, citing UK and European laws over non-use of a trademark. Kleindienst alleged that as Amazon had not developed a new Bond film since the release of No Time to Die yet, limitations of non-use after five years would open up the chance for the property developer to take over the trademarks himself, using them to expand the world of Bond into areas such as the restaurant industry.