LOS ANGELES – Fans of the James Bond film franchise who recently searched for the movies on Amazon Prime Video noticed something curious: The world’s most famous licensed-to-kill spy no longer had a weapon with which to kill.

In promotional artwork for Dr No (1962), the gun once held in late Scottish actor Sean Connery’s crossed arms was noticeably missing. In artwork for GoldenEye (1995), Irish actor Pierce Brosnan still held up his right arm but with no gun in sight, and artwork for Casino Royale (2006) appeared to have been cropped to avoid showing a gun in the hands of English actor Daniel Craig.

Amazon, it seemed, had quietly scrubbed away the firearms that 007 brandishes in some of the most recognisable images in movie history.

After noticing the changes on Oct 3, fans took to social media to ridicule the move and accuse Amazon of “woke”-inspired censorship.

Many worried that the changes presaged more extreme moves from the tech giant, which acquired creative control of the Bond franchise in February from the family that held it for more than 60 years. Fans have been waiting anxiously for Amazon to announce the actor who will replace Craig, who ended his run as Bond in 2021.

A user on the social platform X wondered if Amazon planned to remake the movies with spitballs instead of lethal weapons.

One person on Reddit wondered if the titles might be deemed too violent: “I can’t wait to watch Tomorrow Never Passes Away Peacefully Surrounded By Its Loved Ones.”

“Dr Yes,” another user chimed in.

Fans also took to altering the images themselves. The fearless, debonair secret agent wielded a banana and a hot dog and a foot-long hoagie. (A licence to nosh?) Brosnan glowered menacingly as quaint floral wallpaper floated behind him.

It seems that Amazon had uploaded the new images in time for Global James Bond Day, which is held annually on Oct 5 to celebrate the anniversary of the release of the first Bond film, Dr No, in 1962. But the ...