How James Bond will be ruined by a billionaire regime just like Star Wars and LOTR

Amazon was The Great Unifier this week. The company brought the entire world together in hatred.Their apocalyptic announcement that they’re taking over creative control of the James Bond franchise from the Broccoli family, who have been in charge since 1962’s “Dr.No,” sent fans into a rage, and then a deep depression.I didn’t spot a single story or social media post that was happy with the news.

Well, except for a worrying one from Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos, who wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Who’d you pick as the next Bond?” MrBeast, it is, then.Everybody is furious because the outcome of the $1 billion regime change is so excruciatingly obvious.007 will ski off a cliff to his doom, only there won’t be a Union Jack parachute to save him this time. Bond’s kaput.Over the past 20 years, we’ve watched storied Hollywood brand after storied Hollywood brand be ruined by opportunistic plunderers who buy an enviable property, reduce it to “content” and foolishly think the well will never run dry. The results are always the same.A legacy in tatters.Back in 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm for $4.5 billion, and with it, all of “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones.”There were reasons for optimism then.

Seven years earlier, George Lucas finished his “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, which had been mocked for, among other things, Jar Jar Binks hamming it up and Hayden Christensen proclaiming “I don’t like sand.” The saga could use a refresh, we thought.Help me, Mickey, you’re my only hope.In 2015, audiences heaved a sigh of relief when “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens” hit theaters.Crowds were pleased that it casually ripped off “A New Hope” (Luke became Daisy Ridley’s Rey) and brought Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher back into the galactic fold.

A simple, cinematic hug.But deep down, I had a bad feeling about this.The next two, “The Last Jedi” and “Rise of Skywalker,” comprised a narrative m...