After years of financial instability and a long history of being sold off to different companies, MGM is once again about to acquired… this time by Amazon. MGM was rumoured to be up for sale late last year with the effects of the pandemic and the move toward streaming said to be major factors for the decision. Amazon officially announced today that they would acquire MGM Studios for $8.45 billion, the second largest acquisition in the company’s history. The deal will give them the rights to some 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows including the James Bond and Rocky franchises, The Hobbit Trilogy, Robocop and shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and Stargate. MGM Chairman Kevin Ulrich had this to say:

“It has been an honor to have been a part of the incredible transformation of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. To get here took immensely talented people with a true belief in one vision. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the MGM team who have helped us arrive at this historic day… I am very proud that MGM’s Lion, which has long evoked the Golden Age of Hollywood, will continue its storied history, and the idea born from the creation of United Artists lives on in a way the founders originally intended, driven by the talent and their vision. The opportunity to align MGM’s storied history with Amazon is an inspiring combination.”

Amazon will obviously be happy to fill out their catalogue of content for Prime Video with a lot of classics but they are also planning to develop many of the IPs with remakes, sequels and spin-offs. In addition, they will take ownership of several upcoming projects including Snake Eyes, Respect, House of Gucci, Creed 3 and Tomb Raider 2, among others. It remains to be seen what this deal means for the 007 franchise, however, given that EON Productions still owns half of it and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will retain creative control. Do you think this is a good move for Amazon?