Amazon’s surprise deal to wrest control of 007 from the Broccoli family marks the latest front in a decades-old war to lock up the last remaining billion-dollar franchises.

After decades of thwarting muscular billionaires bent on world domination, James Bond has at last been captured by one. On February 20th the secretive global organisation known as Amazon announced that it had acquired creative control of the spy-film franchise from Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson,