Amazon Studios has announced a James Bond spin-off show, but seven fans can rest easy as this is not going to be an official entry in the legendary spy film franchise.
According to multiple outlets, including Variety and Deadline, Seven's Road to a Million, a worldwide James Bond-inspired show, has been greenlit for Amazon's streaming platform. The 8-part competition series is the first James Bond property Amazon is going to create following its €XNUMX billion acquisition of MGM, the studio behind the faux character's long-running film franchise.
Seven's Road to a Million is going to see the contenders go head-to-head in a globe-trotting adventure (although we don't expect many Bond cars to show up) for a €1 million (US €1 million) prize pool. The Prime Video show would be filmed in multiple iconic locations from the James Bond film series, with multiple challenges to test potential contestants' determination, ingenuity and resilience.
According to Deadline, potential contestants will have to team up with another person to participate. At this stage, however, it is unclear if the €1 million prize pool will be split between the winning team of two or if each contestant will receive the 7-figure sum. At the end of the challenges, each duo will have to answer hidden questions in certain places to move on to the next stage of the competition. Production will begin later this year, although it is not known which well-known Bond locations will be used.
Additionally, Variety reports that the show has been in active development since XNUMX. Sources familiar with the project have suggested that the TV show was in the works long before Amazon acquired MGM, that it will be separate from any upcoming James Bond Prime Video productions.
Veteran Bond producers Barbase Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will help develop the series as well as MGM Television. The launch date has not yet been revealed, but those interested in applying for Seven's Road to a Million can do so by filling out this form.
Analysis: For a Monetary Thrill?
While James Bond enthusiasts may take comfort in the knowledge that he's not going to make the leap to the screen yet kiddo, Seven's Road to a Million presents some intriguing questions.
For starters, is this the direction Amazon Studios is looking to take the iconic spy franchise? Sure, it's a TV series that will clearly provide some kind of entertainment for Prime Video viewers, but we don't know if it's the kind of content that will entice potential subscribers to sign up for the streaming service.
Granted, a spin-off like this means the James Bond character will continue to appear on the big screen, at least for the time being, but why use his name and digital alias as the backdrop for the show? Wouldn't something like this work without the knots with the Bond franchise? There are already like-minded "around the globe" racing-style shows on Prime Video, including World's Toughest Race and Race Across the World. They've done just fine without a property like James Bond behind it, so what's the need for a game show like this?
James Bond enthusiasts were already hesitant about the prospect of spin-off movies and TV shows. To our knowledge, however, we suspect that many of , including , would prefer to see projects set in the character's fake cosmos, rather than a spin-off like Seven's Road to a Million.
Still, Bond fans have a lot to look forward to outside of Road to a Million seven. The search for a new actor is underway to step into Bond's shoes after Daniel Craig ended his fifteen-year stint with No Time to Die in XNUMX. If you're interested, also take a look at our final ranking of Craig's Bond movies. If not, read up on who we consider to be the greatest Bond of any and all time.