Bond girl Léa Seydoux has said the franchise will “never be the same” after it was purchased by Amazon.
The French actor, who played Dr Madeline Swann in Spectre and No Time to Die, has expressed her concerns that the beloved spy series will lose its “British spirit” under its new American ownership.
Seydoux reflects on Broccoli era
Speaking to ELLE UK, the 41-year-old said she “really loved” her time working with Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G Wilson, who had held creative control of the franchise until last year.
“It was one of the best experiences, a pure delight. And I don't know, it will be different.”
“I'm curious how they will reinvent it. But for me, it will never be the same because it was Barbara's father who initiated the Bond movies,” she said.
“Now, I don't know, it became American. I hope they will keep the British spirit.”
Villeneuve and the next Bond
However, Seydoux was a fan of the hiring of Dune director Denis Villeneuve to helm the project, calling him a “great choice”.
As for who should play the next Bond, with frontrunners including Callum Turner, Jack Barton and Jack Lowden, Seydoux said: “He needs to be layered, you know? And that's something that's hard to find in young actors.”
Last month, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who is writing the next movie, revealed that the titular character had been cast and suggested that he has been writing with one particular famous face in mind.
Asked about his approach to writing the character, he told Radio 4's Today programme: “It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is, but also you have to write the character, not the actor.”
Grilled on who would be succeeding Daniel Craig as 007, he simply said: “I'll refer you to my previous answer.”
Amazon acquired initial distribution rights to the franchise when it bought Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in March 2022, and later secured full creative control in February 2025.
