Amazon Prime Faces Backlash For Erasing Guns From JAMES BOND Posters
Amazon Prime Video has found itself in hot water with James Bond fans after a peculiar edit to the franchise’s promotional artwork sparked outrage online.
The streaming platform recently posted updated posters for several 007 films on its U.K. website, but fans quickly noticed something missing: Bond’s gun.
Across the artwork for classics like Dr. No, GoldenEye, and A View to a Kill, the legendary Walther PPK had been digitally erased. In some cases, the gun was cropped out entirely, while in others, Bond’s pose was awkwardly altered to fill the space where it once was.
For example, in A View to a Kill, Roger Moore’s arms looked strangely elongated, as if stretched to cover the missing weapon.
Fans were baffled. What is James Bond without his gun? It’s one of his most recognizable trademarks, a defining part of the character’s cool, dangerous persona. The change didn’t sit well with long-time supporters of the franchise, and the backlash came fast.
Many took to social media to mock and criticize the apparent censorship. Some saw it as an unnecessary and absurd edit, while others joked about the strange poses the new images created.
British actor Rufus Jones (Rivals, W1A) quipped that the new posters looked like it was “giving the tantalising impression that Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan think you’re a wanker.”
The timing made the situation even more awkward, as the controversy unfolded right around James Bond Day on October 5. Shortly after, fans noticed something else, Prime Video UK had quietly removed the edited posters altogether.
In true 007 fashion, the platform swapped them out without comment, replacing the artwork with stills from the films instead. Interestingly, none of those new stills featured Bond holding a gun either.
While Prime Video has refused to comment, speculation continues among fans about what this might mean for the future of the franchise, especially with Denis Villeneuve set to direct the next Bond film. Some fear it’s a glimpse at a “sanitized” version of the iconic spy, while others suspect it was just an overzealous compliance decision gone wrong.