This weekend marked Global James Bond Day, celebrating 63 years since the release of the original 007 film, Sean Connery’s Dr No.
It was around this time that Bond fans spotted something very strange on Amazon Prime Video, the streaming service that now owns the rights to the spy films and is producing the next film.
Artwork representing each Bond had been doctored so that 007’s guns were edited out, leading to awkward poses and uncannily lengthened arms.
This follows HBO Max photoshopping cigarettes and cigars out of classic movie posters, a couple of years ago.
Bond fans went ballistic on social media, slamming the woke move by the streaming giant.
However, it now appears that Amazon has reversed its decision following the backlash, much like Cracker Barrel’s logo change. This was confirmed by Deadline, which reached out to Amazon for comment but was declined. Despite the U-turn, some Amazon Prime Video changes to Bond thumbnails still remain altered at the time of writing.
This includes a shot of Craig’s 007 holding a pistol in Skyfall. Here’s hoping this attitude of airbrushing film history doesn’t impact Amazon’s reboot with Denis Villeneuve. Bond as a character is many things, and woke certainly isn’t one of them.
