With a deal having been agreed to take MGM through a pre-packaged bankruptcy, which will convert the company’s debt-load to equity and install the chiefs of Spyglass at the helm, it’s little wonder they’re already making plans for their biggest franchise. After all, if anything’s going to help the studio roar again, it’s James Bond.
All work on the 23rd 007 feature was put on hold earlier this year, due to the cash-strapped studio having no money to move forwards and no idea at the time when things would be sorted out. But even though the courts have only just approved the bankruptcy plan, the studio has already confirmed to Bloomberg that they plan to put Bond 23 back on the production line, and hope to get it ready for a November 2012 release, with a new 007 flick coming every two years after that.
MGM will own a 50% stake in the next Bond movie, with a partner covering the other half (probably Sony), but the studio will take complete ownership of the franchise from then onwards.
The studio apparently has a lot of financial obligations it still needs to find the cash to cover. For example, its obligations to the Hobbit movies are believed to be in the range of $265-$275 million, money it needs to find from a lender and which it doesn’t currently have.