Amazon Prime Video has taken down artwork for its James Bond film collection after fans objected to the removal of the character’s gun from the images.
The change was made over the weekend, coinciding with James Bond Day on Oct. 5, after social media users noticed that guns were digitally erased from several posters on the streaming platform.
The edited artwork was substituted with stills from the original films.
The modified images affected a number of classic Bond titles, including “Dr. No” starring Sean Connery, and “GoldenEye” featuring Pierce Brosnan. In both cases, the character’s gun was visibly removed from the original promotional images.
Other posters were altered more subtly. In “A View to a Kill,” Roger Moore’s arms appeared lengthened to move the weapon out of frame, while a “Spectre” image featuring Daniel Craig was cropped so his firearm was no longer visible.
Reaction online was swift.
Writer Scott McCrea called the edits “nothing less than cultural vandalism.”
Another critic suggested the move was a worrying indication of the creative direction the franchise could take under Amazon MGM Studios, which recently named Denis Villeneuve as the next Bond director.
Actor Rufus Jones, known for his work in “Rivals” and “W1A,” meanwhile, said the altered poses made Bond appear as though he was making an offensive gesture.
By Monday morning, the Bond thumbnails on Prime Video U.K. had been updated again. The new images now show action scenes from the films rather than promotional posters. However, none of the current thumbnails depict Bond holding a gun. One replacement still from “Skyfall” also cropped Craig’s firearm out of view.
Amazon acquired MGM, the longtime distributor of the James Bond franchise, in 2022, according to TechCrunch.
Amazon then assumed creative control of the franchise this year under a joint venture with longtime rights holders Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, according to Reuters.
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