The Oscars’ James Bond Performance Compared to ‘Funeral’ After Amazon’s Rights Purchase

There was a nine-minute-long James Bond tribute tonight at the Oscars, which featured big names like Margaret Qualley and Doja Cat, and strangely felt like an “In Memoriam” segment. This comes after Amazon acquired complete creative control of the franchise a few weeks ago.

For years, Amazon/MGM and Bond series producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have been at odds; Broccoli and Wilson have maintained a high standard of quality control with the franchise, while Amazon’s studio heads want to turn it into a “shared universe” akin to Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which led to Broccoli to declare the studio heads “f—ing idiots” according to Deadline. Now, after paying Broccoli and Wilson over $1 billion, Amazon is free to do as they wish.

Margaret Qualley introducing the James Bond tribute at the #Oscars 
pic.twitter.com/tcvI621jry

— cinesthetic. (@TheCinesthetic) March 3, 2025

Viewers weighed in on the segment online, with some declaring that the tribute felt like a funeral for MI6’s most famous fictional secret agent.

• “interesting move to start the In Memoriam with the entire Bond franchise” (source)
• “Imagine if they announced and debuted the new bond here during the Oscars. Instead this feels like a eulogy?” (source)
• “Really cool of them to give this extravagant eulogy for the James Bond series amid the Amazon takeover.” (source)

Really cool of them to give this extravagant eulogy for the James Bond series amid the Amazon takeover. #Oscars #Oscars2025 pic.twitter.com/a5C9H7WorS

— Brad Shankar (@bradshankar) March 3, 2025

• “Oscars having a eulogy for the James Bond franchise” (source)
• “Incredible tribute to #JamesBond but almost feels like it’s a funeral and Hollywood is celebrating the memory of 007 just before it goes to #Amazon” (source)
• “Lmao holy s–t the Oscars are showing a whole segment like a real in memoriam if James Bond was a real guy, like the rights being sold to amazon are actually him dying for real” (source)
• “Interesting that the Academy is doing a tribute/farewell to James Bond like the character just died. And you know what? Maybe he did…. Godspeed, James.” (source)