The ex-007 star Timothy Dalton has weighed in on last week’s announcement on the future of the James Bond franchise.
On 20 February, Amazon announced it had struck a deal to have “creative control” over the movies after negotiating with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, the heirs to the series.
Dalton, who played Bond in Licence to Kill and The Living Daylights, was asked about his thoughts during an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
“It is one of the few wonderful stories we’ve got in film that is British,” Dalton said. “The leading character is British. We can call it our own.”
He praised Broccoli, calling her “fantastic” and “one of the best women in the world”.
“I have no idea what Amazon would do with it, and I have no idea what the relationship of Amazon to the Broccolis will be,” he said. “But it is a damn fine series of movies. I was watching it when I was young, we all were. It’s been part of our lives, so anything that threatens it is kind of sad.”
He also expressed no concern over the financial success of the deal, saying “Amazon are quite capable of making it a hit”.
In another interview with the Radio Times, Dalton said he was “very, very surprised and shocked”.
The actor was promoting his role in the hit TV series 1923 alongside Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.
Last week in a statement, Amazon’s film chief, Mike Hopkins, said the company was “honoured to continue this treasured heritage, and look forward to ushering in the next phase”.
It has been reported that the deal cost Amazon about $1bn. The news was quickly followed by Amazon’s executive chair, Jeff Bezos, asking fans who they thought should be the next Bond on social media.
Daniel Craig, who had the longest tenure as the character between the years of 2006 and 2020, reacted to the news in a statement.
“My respect, admiration and love for Barbara and Michael remain constant and undiminished,” he said. “I wish Michael a long, relaxing (and well deserved) retirement and whatever ventures Barbara goes on to do, I know they will be spectacular and I hope I can be part of them.”
The Bond films have made almost $8bn at the global box office.
