Every Major Movie & TV Franchise Amazon Acquired From MGM

After being shopped around to potential buyers for months, MGM was finally purchased by Amazon, transferring the studio’s impressive catalog of TV and film franchises. The company was owned by a collection of hedge funds and holding companies since it declared bankruptcy a decade ago, but its many classics have now found a more permanent home. Given Amazon’s current focus on producing original streaming content to compete with Disney and Warner Bros., any number of the beloved series formerly under MGM’s purview could be getting new installments in the near future.

Back catalogs of branded content are at a premium value right now, largely thanks to the rapidly expanding collection of streaming platforms currently striving for dominance. Veterans of the space like Amazon and Netflix have been challenged recently by high-profile newcomers like HBO Max and Disney+, sparking a scramble to acquire recognizable brands for development and expansion. With theaters largely closed or offering limited admittance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, streaming has become the de facto entertainment method of choice.

MGM’s movie library would have made an excellent addition to any company trying to carve out a swathe of the current subscription landscape, and it should do wonders for Amazon. With content ranging from sci-fi and comedy to historical fiction and crime thrillers, it’s an expansive collection featuring some incredibly popular titles. Of course, due to some complicated rights situations and shared ownership of a few big IPs, developing some of Amazon’s new franchises may be more complicated than others. Still, there are a lot of great titles that were at least partially under the MGM umbrella, and some that Amazon now owns completely. Here are some of the biggest TV and film franchises acquired from MGM by Amazon in the purchase, and how they could be used going forward.

James Bond

Perhaps MGM’s biggest and most prestigious franchise, the 007 brand was likely the biggest part of Amazon’s purchasing decision. From the extensive collection of classic films to the current popularity brought by the Daniel Craig era, James Bond is an excellent acquisition, both for building out Amazon’s streaming library and for developing new original content. The rights aren’t so simple, as MGM only co-owned the James Bond back catalog and a separate holding company has final say over new projects, but that doesn’t mean additional deals can’t be worked out. With Daniel Craig reportedly leaving the franchise after the release of No Time to Die, it could be the perfect time for Amazon to start working on a whole new 007 era.

The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale was MGM’s last major hit. The show has been a sweeping success and overall cultural phenomenon since its first season debuted on Hulu, and that popularity shows no signs of dying down. With a fifth season already planned and a spinoff/Handmaid’s Tale sequel series supposedly on the way, the franchise will only be expanding its reach in the future. Given that The Handmaid’s Tale has previously aired as a Hulu original, a company owned by Disney, it should be curious to see if future installments or spinoffs in the franchise find their way to Amazon Prime Video.

Fargo

While nowhere near as widely impactful as the last two franchises, Fargo has nonetheless found a distinct and dedicated fan base through season 4 of Fargo‘s recent TV run. The series has shown that it has longevity across time and varying media platforms. It may not exactly be ripe for mass expansion, but it should remain a popular piece of any media library. Plus, as an ongoing franchise, Fargo’s appeal will likely only grow.

Stargate

Out of all the titles on this list, Stargate seems like the one most primed for major rebooting. While there’s been little movement in the popular sci-fi franchise of late, a transfer of rights could set Stargate up for a climactic return. The series has spanned both film and television successfully, and its core concept leaves a nearly endless list of possibilities for future content. Plus, the catalog of preexisting Stargate material is massive in its own right, and should be a great get for Amazon from the start. Going forward, new Stargate theatrical films and original streaming series could be distinct possibilities as well.

Rocky

There was a time when the Rocky name had lost some of its luster, but the recent success of the Creed films has brought it back into the spotlight in a major way. The films remain classics with a huge fan following – certainly one of the biggest catalog additions Amazon got in the MGM acquisition. On top of that, the future of the franchise looks bright. Sylvester Stallone may be finally done playing Rocky on screen, but he’s left the narrative in excellent hands with Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed. Plus, Stallone revealed before the Amazon purchase of MGM that he’s currently working on a Rocky prequel series ideal for a streaming platform. As long as people love boxing, triumphing over adversity, and montages of athletes running up stairs, the Rocky series will remain a hot commodity, and one that Amazon will surely continue to expand.

Legally Blonde

With the announcement that Legally Blonde 3 is being written for a planned 2022 release, the series is likely headed to another peak in popularity. Reese Witherspoon’s performance as Elle Woods is one of the most iconic and beloved of the early 2000s. The additional success of the 2007 Broadway musical adaptation only expanded Legally Blonde’s cultural appeal and longevity. It may not be as longstanding as Rocky or Bond, but Legally Blonde is still a major franchise with a driven fan base and a lot of potential in its future with Amazon.

Vikings

Vikings is the sort of series where the base concept is so open-ended that it could spawn any number of additional spinoffs or other ancillary content in the future. In Amazon’s hands, any of those possibilities could become a reality. The main series just finished its extended run recently, but a spinoff, Vikings: Valhalla, is already in development for Netflix. The fan base around the franchise is fiercely dedicated, and it’s held a distinct role in the modern TV landscape for close to a decade. While it may not have been one of the main reasons for Amazon’s decision to purchase MGM, Vikings is still a strong and relevant name with a loyal following. It also has a decent merchandising arm, which could make a lot of sense with Amazon’s other business interests.

The Pink Panther

Over the decades, The Pink Panther has tried its hand at a number of different platforms and iterations – sometimes to immense success, sometimes to less stellar performances. It doesn’t seem like the kind of franchise with immediate future potential, but the numerous existing films – especially classics like Return of the Pink Panther – are great library additions in Amazon’s mission to expand its streaming catalog. The Pink Panther isn’t about to vanish from the cultural consciousness any time soon, and in the right hands it could be rejuvenated into a prominent modern property. Perhaps a new cartoon could be produced for Amazon Prime Video, or the studio could move forward with a full-on theatrical reboot. Either way, Pink Panther has a lot of potential going forward.

The Silence of the Lambs

The rights situation for The Silence of the Lambs is complicated and a bit confusing. MGM only ever owned part of the franchise’s story and characters – specifically, those that originated in the original Silence of the Lambs novel. Characters who originated in Red Dragon, the prequel, belong to a separate company. That means that MGM did not own Hannibal Lecter or Will Graham, and Amazon didn’t get those characters when it purchased the studio. The recent CBS series Clarice, which doesn’t use Hannibal Lecter, is made under MGM’s old rights umbrella, while the acclaimed NBC series Hannibal was developed outside the rights now owned by Amazon. While losing out on Lecter is obviously unfortunate, the parts of the franchise Amazon has acquired are still significant. It should be interesting to see what Amazon chooses to do with the brand, or if they’ll try to make a bid to acquire the Lecter portion of the universe as well.

Robocop

Last on our list is a stalwart of classic sci-fi action. Robocop has primarily lived off nostalgia and affection for the original films since its heyday ended years ago, though the 2014 reboot was met with a relatively positive reception upon its initial release as well. It’s also a series that’s been successful across different media, including toys, TV, and video games. The brand is certainly not as strong as it was when the original Robocop movie first released in the late 1980s, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be adapted for interesting new material if given the right creative oversight. Talk of a new Robocop reboot has made the rounds for years, and Amazon might finally be the right studio to make it happen.

Regardless of which franchises Amazon chooses to develop from its MGM haul, they should all be big additions to the company’s existing content library. What exactly will become of the MGM franchise at Amazon, however, remains to be seen.

About The Author

Rick Stevenson
(1221 Articles Published)

Rick Stevenson is a writer, editor and performer based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s written on TV, film and games for over six years, in addition to assorted stints in bookselling, carpentry, and TV production. Rick studied writing at the College of William & Mary and Oxford University, and can report with some authority that they are both old. He lives and dies for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

More From Rick Stevenson