Amazon has withdrawn a set of 'gunless' James Bond posters from its Prime Video streaming service following criticism from fans and media outlets. The artwork, released to coincide with James Bond day on Sunday, was intended as thumbnail imagery but sparked accusations of sanitising the iconic brand.
Fans noticed that the posters had been edited to remove firearms from well-known images. A publicity shot of Sean Connery holding a Walther PPK pistol in Dr No was altered, as was a teaser poster for Daniel Craig's Spectre where the gun was cropped out, though the shoulder holster remained. A similar edit was applied to a Roger Moore image from Live and Let Die.
Social media erupted in criticism, with outlets such as the Sun and the Daily Mail branding the move 'woke'. In response, Amazon replaced the posters with more traditional stills from the films, though these also remained gun-free.
The controversy comes after Amazon MGM Studios acquired the James Bond franchise for over $1bn in February. The streaming platform has not commented further on the decision.
