After days of speculation,Amazon was officially confirmed as the new owners of MGM, and by proxy many huge movie and TV franchises are now theirs to do what they like with. Like Disney’s acquisition of Fox before it, the merger opens up many new avenues for Amazon to explore - although some movies such asThe Wizard of OzandGone With The Windto mention two after off limits for complex legal reasons. With their Prime Video service already scoring multiple hits in the TV series stakes, with the likes ofBosch, The BoysandJack Ryan, along with their multi-million dollarLord of The RingsTV Series taking shape, we take a look at which of their newly purchased movie franchises Amazon could put into production right now, and which they are likely to pass on.
15James Bond
We can’t start this list without ticking off MGM’s biggest money-spinner. There are fewer things certain in the movie industry than the notion that somewhere in the future there will always be another Bond movie. SinceDr Nobrought the MI6 agent to the big screen, and made a megastar of Sean Connery, we have seen the mantle passed on from one generation to the next with varying levels of success. Even when the franchise seemed to be running out of steam, something came along to give it the jumpstart it needed. The arrival of Daniel Craig in 2006’sCasino Royalewas one such jolt to the system, bringing out a brutal and emotional side of Bond that had been missing for some time which proved to be a hit with moviegoers. As Daniel Craig’s tenure comes to an end this year withNo Time To Die, speculation of who will take over has been the topic of conversation for a number of years already. If there is one of their acquired franchises that Amazon are guaranteed to be ready to throw a fair bit of money behind, then this is going to be the one. We would expect some big name stars to be linked to the newly vacated role and an announcement about the next generation of Bond to be high on the priority list.
The 1980s gave birth to many macho, violent movie franchises of whichRoboCopwas one. The 1987 Paul Verhoeven film centered on police officer Alex Murphy, played by Peter Weller, who is murdered on duty and is brought back to life as a part-cyborg law enforcer. Like many of Verhoeven’s movies, the film was soaked in violence to the point it had to be cut severely to gain the certification the studio wanted. The original movie was something of a critical success, with its satirical look at corporate greed and the police system making it more than just another brainless, shoot-‘em up action film. The film spawned two badly received sequels, withRoboCop 3(1994) being seen as a complete failure and franchise killer. However, after a number of video games and animated series, a reboot of themovie franchise hit theatersin 2014, to mixed reviews but financial success. In 2020 it was announced that a direct sequel to the 1987 original was moving into development, with Abe Forsythe down to direct and co-write the script. Will Amazon see this as a risk worth taking? There is currently a big 80s nostalgia trip going on, which could massively help keep the new sequel on Amazons list of projects for the near future.
The story ofRockybegan in 1976, when Sylvester Stallone was first heard bellowing “Adrian” through beaten lips and a legacy was born. The original movie cost just over $1 million to make but raked in over $225 million at the global box office. With a return like that, and a Best Picture win at the Academy Awards, it was never going to stop there. And it didn’t. So far the franchise has spawned seven sequels including the spin-off moviesCreedandCreed 2in 2015 and 2018 respectively, with a thirdCreedmovie expected in 2022. While Stallone appears to be moving away from the series, announcing in April this year that he won’t appear as his character Rocky Balboa inCreed 3, there have been discussions ongoing since 2019 about a potential prequel to the original film based on the life of a younger Rocky. Could this be where Amazon choose to take the franchise? WithCreedandCreed 2being big hits at the box office, it’s unlikely they are about to ding the bell onRockyjust yet, but without Stallone a prequel movie or series may be their best route to go.
12The Hobbit
The work of Tolkien is a dark and twisted mess when it comes to who owns what. The originalLord of The Ringstrilogy was produced by New Line Cinema and WingNut Films two decades ago - if you may believe that - and the belatedHobbit Trilogywas a jointly financed effort between New Line, WingNut Films and MGM, with distribution by Warner Bros. In 2017, Amazon bought the television rights to Tolkien’sLord Of The Ringsfor a mere $250 million and have a plan to make a five season production based on the stories of Middle Earth in what will be one of the most expensive TV series ever put on screen. However, as this series takes place thousands of years beforeThe Hobbit, it is unlikely that we will see any further adventures of Bilbo and Co anytime soon, and certainly not in movie form. The first season of the series is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video later this year and will likely be the way forward for Tolkien’s work for the foreseeable future.
11The Addams Family
They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and the story of who ownsThe Addams Familyis a little bit ooky. Amazon have gained the rights toThe Addams Familythanks to MGM being the current rights holders of the family created by Charles Addams way back in 1938. Over the years, many aspects of the family, which started life as a series of unrelated single panel cartoons, more than half of which were published in The New Yorker, have been bought for use including Disney (1998 TV series), Warner Bros. (1973 and 1992 TV Series), MGM-owned Orion Pictures (who own the original series and part of the 1991 movie), and Universal Pictures/United Artists ( for the 2019 and 2021 animated movies). WhileThe Addams Familyare one of those creations that are so iconic it is hard to image there not being something new constantly in production, with the recent animated movies andTim Burton currently making his Netflix series Wednesday, it’s likely that Amazon will dip into the franchise at some point once they see how Burton’s series is received.
10Bill & Ted
The adventures ofWilliam “Bill” S Preston Esq. and “Ted” Theodore Logan, played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves respectively, first started in 1989 with the pair taking anExcellent Adventureinto the past and meet numerous icons of centuries gone by. A couple of years later, the pair returned for aBogus Journey, which saw them sent to Hell - literally - as they played the Grim Reaper at Twister and spoke to God for a chance to return to Earth. The franchise also featured an animated series, a live action series and numerous games and books, before a surprising and much belated third movie,Bill and Ted Face The Music, arrived in 2020, once again featuring Winters and Reeves in the lead roles. While the new movie proved to be popular, and a fourth movie has been mentioned in a number of interviews, it is unlikely that Amazon would rush to prioritize a continuation of the series, especially with movie writer Ed Solomon being quoted as say he felt that Bill and Ted’s story was done in a recent interview. In these days of reboots though, and the fact the pair have daughters in their most recent movie, we could still see a spin off from the franchise at some point.
Stargateis a science fiction franchise that began with a feature movie in 1994, which focuses on an alien device capable of transporting people across the universe and beyond almost instantly. The hit movie, which grossed just under $200million at the box office, was followed by the long running series’Stargate SG-1, Stargate AtlantisandStargate Universe, which in all ran between 1997 and 2011. There have also been a couple of direct to video movies, which were linked to the Atlantis series, and most recently, in 2018, a web seriesStargate Origins, which ran for ten episodes, each lasting ten minutes, was released partly to tie in the 20th Anniversary ofStargate SG-1. With so much ground already covered, and very little seen to suggest that the almost complete decade long absence of any new material is something that needs to be rectified, Amazon will likely have a number of other projects to pursue before they would consider reopening theStargateagain.
8Legally Blonde
Legally Blondestarred Reese Witherspoon and was released in 2001, with a sequel following soon after in 2003. There was also a little heard of spin-off movie calledLegally Blondes, which was released straight to DVD in 2009. The franchise also spawned a stage musical, which premiered in San Francisco in 2007 before moving to New York. Back in May 2020, it was announced that writers Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor had signed on to write a third film in the series, and later in the year MGM confirmed thatLegally Blonde 3will be released in May 2022. Considering this one seems to be well on the way to production and given the popularity of the original films, it’s unlikely that Amazon will drop this one from its production schedule.
7The Pink Panther
The Pink Pantherfirst hit screens in 1963, and starred Peter Sellers as inept detective Inspector Clouseau. The movie was popular enough to have no less than 9 sequels in all, some with Sellers and others without. It also received a reboot in 2006, with Steven Martin in the role made so iconic by Sellers it was always going to end badly. While it was panned by critics, Martin’s version did get its own sequel in 2009. Since then, there have been no further attempts to continue the franchise but perhaps this could be a good time for Amazon to try and eradicate the memory of Martin’s Clouseau and give us something more in line with Sellers’ fantastically crafted original. Of course, if they really wanted to be nice, there are plentyPink Pantherfans, myself included, who would be more than happy for Amazon to leave this one well alone.
And as far as MGM’s movie series goes,GI Joereceived two film releases starting withRise of Cobrain 2009, and a second installment, starring Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson, calledGI Joe: Retaliationin 2013. While critics generally hated both movies, with negative reviews hailing in like the many bullets seen on screen, the movies made decent money at the box office, so this is one franchise that could very well be resuscitated by Amazon. Also going for this is the fact it originated from a toy line of the 1980s, and as there is currently a big surge in 80s nostalgia revivals, such asMasters of The Universe, that could well make it a worthwhile project to reboot all over again. If Amazon can manage to get a decent storyline to boot, then they could certainly be onto a winner.
