EXCLUSIVE: Barbara Broccoli began making the calls Thursday, London time, to her most frequent and trusted collaborators to tell them news would soon ricochet around the world like a bullet fired from a Walther PPK,

The studio will take the reins for the 60-year-old movie property, while Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli will remain co-owners as they move to the sidelines as part of a joint venture transaction.

The broad strokes of the deal state that the streaming production powerhouse “will gain creative control of the James Bond franchise,” thanks to a new joint venture. Addressing the decision in Amazon’s press release announcing the deal, producer Michael G. Wilson had this to say: