Amazon Eyes TV, Movie Projects for MGM Titles Like ‘Legally Blonde’ and ‘Robocop’

A year after acquiring MGM, Amazon Studios reportedly looks at new projects based on its intellectual property.

Several film and television projects based on the movie and television studio’s properties are in discussions or development, Deadline reported Friday (April 14), citing unnamed sources.

There are early discussions around making both movies and TV series based on “Legally Blonde,” “Stargate” and “Robocop,” according to the report.

Other discussions center on a “Thomas Crown Affair” movie, a “Pink Panther” movie and “Poltergeist” project for which the format is unknown, the report said.

Beyond that, Amazon Studios is actively developing TV series based on “Fame,” “Barbershop” and “The Magnificent Seven,” per the report.

Amazon did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

Amazon has been taking its time planning what to do with the MGM intellectual property, in part because the company wants to be doing it right and in partly because it is dealing with the complexities around the underlying rights of some titles, according to the report.

Determining the rights can be challenging because they involve MGM, which is nearly 100 years old, its multiple owners over the years and the financing partners with which it developed different projects, the report said.

Amazon closed on its $6.5 billion acquisition of MGM in March 2022, gaining access to a library of 4,000 movies and 17,000 episodes of television series.

The acquisition was Amazon’s second largest, behind only its $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods in 2017, and positioned it to better compete against rivals like Netflix and Disney+.

“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,” Senior Vice President Mike Hopkins said at the time.

As PYMNTS reported on April 10, streaming platforms are streaming a lot of cash into their content, with what is effectively a new slew of Hollywood studios competing to make money.

Many are also planning to lean more heavily into theatrical debuts. Amazon Studios, for example, is making good on late 2022 reports that it would spend $1 billion producing films for theatrical release.