The acquisition of MGM Studios by Amazon has been finalized. The news was confirmed by Deadline, with the studio paying a hefty price of $8.5 billion for the privilege of adding an assortment of recognizable, beloved, and award-winning movie and television titles to their roster. The variety of MGM content, which includes the likes of James Bond and Rocky, “will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers,” Amazon said in its announcement.

“MGM has a nearly century-long legacy of producing exceptional entertainment, and we share their commitment to delivering a broad slate of original films and television shows to a global audience,” Amazon’s Mike Hopkins, who leads the way on Amazon Studios and streaming service Prime Video. “We welcome MGM employees, creators, and talent to Prime Video and Amazon Studios, and we look forward to working together to create even more opportunities to deliver quality storytelling to our customers.”

The historical purchase recently jumped a huge hurdle, being approved by the European Union’s antitrust regulator “unconditionally.” While the deal had still been pending approval by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Amazon previously gave the FTC a deadline of mid-March to issue a decision which, if missed, meant Amazon could move forward with the deal. So, considering we have passed mid-March, the deal is done. It's over. Go home.

“We are excited for MGM and its bounty of iconic brands, legendary films and television series, and our incredible team and creative partners to join the Prime Video family,” Chris Brearton, chief operating officer of MGM, said in a statement. “MGM has been responsible for the creation of some of the most well-known and critically acclaimed films and television series of the past century,” he added. “We look forward to continuing that tradition as we head into this next chapter, coming together with the great team at Prime Video and Amazon Studios to provide audiences with the very best in entertainment for years to come.”

Amazon has now absorbed MGM into its ever-growing mass of content Akira-style, and will likely be looking to add content to Amazon Prime Video and begin developing new projects based on some of the more familiar titles.

Amazon is Not Expected to Make Changes to the James Bond Franchise

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Universal Pictures

The acquisition means that Amazon now has the likes of 12 Angry Men, Basic Instinct, Creed, Rocky, Legally Blonde, Moonstruck, Poltergeist, Raging Bull, Robocop, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate, Thelma & Louise, Tomb Raider, The Magnificent Seven, The Pink Panther, The Thomas Crown Affair and, of course, the James Bond series under its domain. The purchasing of MGM does not just bring beloved movie titles with it however, with the likes of such TV shows as Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Vikings also now under Amazon’s umbrella.

While you would think that Amazon will quickly be looking to expand on certain franchises, James Bond in particular, this is apparently not the case. Recently, Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson assured 007 fans that James Bond will remain largely as is and not be moved to streaming, "We are committed to continuing to make James Bond films for the worldwide theatrical audience."