Like it or not, cinematic universes are here to stay. And you know something is a huge trend when the Bond franchise is considering it. 007 films have long been known to pick up trends and adapt them into their own work, from the gritty 80s revenge films which morphed into Licence To Kill, to the Bourne-inspired realistic reboot of Casino Royale.
According to the tweet below from Jeff Sneider of The Tracking Board, Bond producers are considering a set of films within the 007 universe that don’t necessarily feature Bond himself:
I've heard the Broccolis have caught Universe Fever and would love to explore other corners of the Bond franchise… simultaneously.
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) June 23, 2017
The MCU has obviously been a massive influence to practically every big budget film today, which now has to be shoehorned into an interconnected universe. Godzilla and King Kong are set to go at it in a few years, DC may have finally got a foothold in their own universe, while Universal’s Dark Universe is off to a rocky start after the poor performance of The Mummy.
Considering that the Bond franchise is already a huge box office draw, it’s hardly surprising that producers feel they could sneak in a few extra 007 related films and make even more money on potentially a yearly basis, rather than have to wait every four years or so.
Of course, that runs the risk of losing the magic of Bond and wearing down audiences’ patience with films not featuring particularly popular characters. While ideas have been thrown around regarding a prequel about Judi Dench‘s M, or a spin-off revolving around Moneypenny, it’s hard to know whether those characters warrant full, drawn out backstories and whether audiences would pay to see them.
This is very early days, and we’re speculating off a single tweet, basically. But it’s no surprise to hear that the cashcow potential of cinematic universes is spreading to even the most stable franchises out there.
#Peace.Love.Bond
