James Bond has been dominating the headlines for weeks following Amazon’s acquisition of the creative rights to the spy franchise. It marks a monumental shift for 007, one that most fans are skeptical about. Unfortunately, Amazon didn’t help them ease their concerns during the Bond tribute at the 2025 Oscars.
The Academy Awards are all about celebrating movies and the people that helped bring them to life. Of course, things can go off the rails from time to time, with hosts choosing to include comedy bits to break up the stream of acceptance speeches. And while the 2025 Oscars did have its fair share of humorous segments, it also took a few minutes to celebrate the James Bond franchise and the producers that helped make it a hit, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
Marquet Qualley took the stage and performed a dance routine before Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye came on to sing popular songs from the series, including “Skyfall” and “Diamonds Are Forever.” It was a very well put-together moment, but a lot of the people watching at home were confused by the whole thing, and they took to social media to talk about it.
The most common criticism of the Bond tribute was that the Oscars didn’t get artists with ties to the franchise to perform. It’s possible that the powers that be reached out to Adele and others and they declined, but that didn’t stop bewildered viewers from letting their feelings be known.
The other issue people seemed to have was that the whole thing felt more like a funeral than a tribute. Of course, with a major corporation taking control of 007, many feel as if it’s only a matter of time before spinoff shows and prequels start taking center stage and the property starts to feel less special.
The one thing that would’ve quelled the panic was if Amazon had announced the new Bond live on stage, and more than a few viewers thought that was going to happen. After all, why else would the Oscars take time out of its already packed schedule to honor a franchise that hasn’t released a project since 2021? Well, it turns out that Broccoli and Wilson just meant that much to the people behind-the-scenes, and they didn’t care if those at home were more concerned with who’s going to order their martini shaken, not stirred, next.
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