James Bond is best known for wielding his Walter PPK, but if you’re looking for his signature sidearm on Amazon, you won’t see it. Prime Video has made changes to its posters, and where Bond was initially holding a gun, it has been removed. Not only that, but the company appears to have done this using Photoshop, and it shows.
The new Photoshopped James Bond posters bear little resemblance to the franchise. Instead of the iconic 007, these posters resemble a clothing ad for the Amazon shopping service. It does nothing to reveal what these movies are about, which makes them a strange choice for promotion.
While the guns are now a no-go for Amazon Prime Video and its James Bond posters, this also raises concerns, as Prime Video now holds the rights to the future James Bond movies. As it now makes fans even more nervous about the franchise, here is a look at the most notable new James Bond posters.
Sean Connery In Doctor No
The first James Bond in the movies was Sean Connery, and he was not only a ladies’ man but also one of the deadliest Bonds with a gun. The movie poster for the first Connery movie, Dr. No, saw 007 not in his trademark tux, but in a polo shirt with his arms casually crossed over his chest.
However, the new Prime Video James Bond posters did something shockingly different. It kept Bond in the same pose, changed the background to incorporate 007 into the graphics, and then digitally removed the gun he was casually holding in the original image.
Instead of holding the gun, to convey how deadly this super spy is, the new image has him standing with his arms crossed, and even his trigger finger is altered to show it folded down. It is almost as if Bond is striking a pose at a club rather than revealing his true nature.
Roger Moore In Octopussy
The Roger Moore Octopussy poster was based on the original poster, where James Bond stood at attention while a helicopter flew behind him, creating what appears to be an exciting action scene. However, the new poster completely removes all the excitement from that image.
While Octopussy was never a good James Bond movie, it was still one of Moore’s films, which brought a level of camp to the preceding. Instead, this new poster shows Bond standing with the hand that was holding the gun now lowered out of the shot.
Even more bizarre is that his second hand is held at a weird angle, making it look like he is about to grapple with someone. It was at least an image that suggested Bond was about to scrap with a villain, but losing the gun was still a baffling decision.
Pierce Brosnan In GoldenEye
GoldenEye remains one of Pierce Brosnan’s best James Bond movies, but the new Prime Video poster does little to let fans know what to expect from the movie. In the original image, James Bond stood with his dress shirt on, but unbuttoned at the top, and he held his gun, pointed up, ready to fire.
However, the new Photoshopped Prime Video James Bond image has him standing and staring forward. Once again, this has the same “007” in the background, this time a gold-tinted one, but instead, he holds his gun hand up in a slight fist, without a gun in it at all.
Once again, it appears that Brosnan is modeling a men’s clothing line, rather than preparing to go into battle as Britain’s best spy.
Roger Moore In Moonraker
The Roger Moore poster from Moonraker is even more bizarre. In the original poster, Moore was in a silver space suit, as this movie took James Bond into outer space. He was also holding what looked like a futuristic gun, which shot what appeared to be a red beam as he flew into space.
However, the new Prime Video James Bond poster shows him with a gold astronaut suit on, with a zippered collar, and he is staring off into the distance. He is no longer holding his futuristic space gun, and there is nothing in the image that shows him in space at all.
He also has his hands down to his side, and while it looks like they are behind his back, they might have just been digitally removed completely to eliminate any trace of his gun.
Pierce Brosnan In Tomorrow Never Dies
The Pierce Brosnan poster for Tomorrow Never Dies looks like it comes from a completely different genre. Instead of Bond looking intense or ready to get into a fight with people to save the world, this James Bond looks like a father who is greeting his daughter’s date for prom night.
The poster has a pinkish hue in the background, and James Bond himself stands in a nice black suit with his arms crossed over his chest. Instead of an intense stare, Brosnan instead has a small smile or smirk on his face, and it looks like he is starring in a rom-com or coming-of-age movie as a strict dad.
The more some of these posters alter the image to eliminate the guns, the more they appear to be telling a very different story than what fans will see when they watch the films.
Daniel Craig In Spectre
Amazon Prime Video took the easy way out with the Daniel Craig poster for Spectre. The company only changed the background, which initially had a silver tint, to a blue color, with the 007 logo stretching across the back. However, instead of digitally removing the gun, they just cropped it out.
In the original movie poster, James Bond holds his gun down by his side in his right hand. This new poster crops the poster off at his waist, and there is no way to see what Bond might be holding in that hand.
However, the most interesting aspect of this poster is that James Bond still has his gun strap on his shoulder. Although the gun is missing, it is still evident that he has one, which sets this poster apart from the others.
Roger Moore In A View To Kill
The Prime Video poster for A View to Kill also had a very different vibe from the films about a super spy saving the world. In the original poster, James Bond is standing back-to-back with Grace Jones as May Day. Bond is in his black tux, with his gun raised in front of him.
However, the Prime Video poster eliminates May Day, Bond’s gun, and even his black tux. Instead, Bond is wearing a brown suit, and he looks more like a teacher heading to his first day at school than a spy representing Queen and Country.
This poster might be the worst of them all in showcasing James Bond as a suave ladies’ man with a license to kill. Instead, it looks like he is just a grumpy man heading to his 9-to-5 job.
George Lazenby In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
George Lazenby appeared in only one James Bond movie, but he might have the most bizarre new Prime Video poster among all the Bond actors. Lazenby starred in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, a movie that had one of the most tragic endings of any Bond adventure.
That actually kind of fits the movie poster, although it stands out from every other movie in the franchise. The original poster depicted Bond in a suit, leaning against a lamppost, with his gun held in his right hand. The new poster eliminates all that.
Instead, Lazenby wears a fancy suit, which may hint at his impending wedding at the end of the movie. There is no gun, and he simply smiles at the camera, looking nothing like any James Bond in the franchise’s history.
Sean Connery In Thunderball
The Prime Video James Bond poster for Thunderball is a good example of an uncanny valley experience. The original poster depicted James Bond walking with his gun held up, while wearing a knife holder on his leg and his swim trunks. In the background are supporting characters, including a woman aiming a rifle.
However, this poster, among all the others that Prime Video recreated, had what looked most like an AI image of Sean Connery as James Bond. He stood in his black tux, an eyebrow raised, looking into the distance. The hand that should hold a gun is at the bottom, cropped out of the poster.
While it is clear that Amazon used Photoshop to alter the images, this was the one poster that looked like they had done the most work to make it not even resemble a real photograph of the actor.
Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights
Timothy Dalton’s James Bond movies were the most violent of any of the franchise, and fans weren’t ready for it yet. He only lasted for two movies before the franchise replaced him with Pierce Brosnan. Daniel Craig did what Dalton tried to do to much bigger success, but Dalton’s movies deserve praise.
The original poster for The Living Daylights showed that, with Bond aiming a gun, explosions and fast cars surrounding him. The Prime Video James Bond poster remake offered no such respect, with a bored-looking Timothy Dalton standing with his hands in his pockets, unless they were also cropped out.
He looks nothing like James Bond in this image, and he barely resembles Timothy Dalton. While Amazon Prime Video has a lot to prove when it comes to the James Bond franchise and its upcoming movies, its treatment of the franchise with these powers is not a good sign.
