Amazon backtracks after censoring James Bond posters

Over the weekend it emerged that Amazon, which now owns the rights to James Bond, had begun censoring several promotional posters where the character's gun had been edited out. The altered images included some of the most iconic visuals in the series — such as Sean Connery with his Walther PPK in Dr. No or Daniel Craig in Spectre — both stripped of their trademark weapons. In one particularly bizarre example, Roger Moore's arm had even been digitally extended so that his pistol would fall outside the frame, resulting in an image that looked downright absurd.

Criticism spread quickly online, with many accusing Amazon of trying to water down Bond's visual identity and calling the move a prime example of overzealous "wokeness." Fans were furious and understandably so. What remains of Bond if he's not even allowed to hold his signature gun?

It now appears that Amazon has listened. The censored images have been replaced with more conventional stills from the films, still weapon-free, but at least without the grotesque edits. So far, Amazon has issued no official statement explaining the change or the reasoning behind it.