Doctor Strange 2 banned in Saudi Arabia because gay, in China because politics (2024)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessis Marvel’s next big movie, poised to entertain people around the world and haul in hundreds of millions of dollars while it’s at it.
But not everywhere. The movie has been banned in at least one big market and probably shut out of one of the biggest. First up,The A.V. Clubreports that the film is banned in Saudi Arabia because one of the characters, dimension-hopping teenager America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), has two mothers. hom*osexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia, as it is in several Gulf states. And they have an absolute monarchy there, so unlessKing Salman changes his mind, this sort of nonsense is probably going to keep happening.Eternalswas banned for similar reasons.
To its credit, Disney has stuck to its guns and included some (very light) LGBT+ elements in its movies despite the knowledge that they will get the movie banned in parts of the world. Not every studio is so willing; for instance, Warner Bros. edited out dialogue about the title character’s hom*osexuality inThe Secrets of Dumbledoreto appease Chinese censors.
That said, at this point there’s probably nothing Disney can do to get Marvel movies released in China. The last Marvel movie in Chinese theaters wasAvengers: Endgame, which made $629 million there. So there’s clearly an appetite for Marvel stuff among the Chinese public, but the Chinese Communist Party has been unhappy with the company for years; Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Venom: Let There Be CarnageandSpider-Man: No Way Homewere all shut out of the territory.
Why are Marvel movies being shut out? People aren’t really sure. PerDeadline, it could have started whenBlack Widowportrayed Communism in a less-than-flattering light. Comments made byShang-ChistarSimu Liu andEternalsdirectorChloéZhao may be behind the ban. Or maybe the CCP just didn’t like that Iron Man died; it’s hard to tell with authoritarians.
In any case, the chances forDoctor Strange 2aren’t good, especially after fans on social media pointed out that, in the background of an early scene, you can see a copy ofThe Epoch Times on a newsstand.The Epoch Timesis an international, multi-language newspaper and media company that opposes the Chinese Communist Party.
True, the presence ofThe Epoch Timesis an incidental detail that you wouldn’t see unless you were really looking for it and that has nothing to do with the scene — it’s a fight sequence on the streets of New York City — but the Chinese propaganda state is very sensitive and they’re already mad at Disney, so they don’t need much reason to crack down.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesscomes out in theaters this Friday, May 6…in most places.
Next. George R.R. Martin: Game of Thrones prequel is full of “conflicted, grey characters”. dark
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Sam Raimi's sequel “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” will not be released in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, or Qatar due to a new character being gay. hom*osexuality is officially illegal across the Gulf, and films that feature LGBTQ+ themes or characters are often censored.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was also reportedly denied a release due to the inclusion of a character with two lesbian mothers, and for a scene involving a newspaper kiosk that featured the Chinese characters for the Epoch Times, a newspaper critical of the Communist party.
Reports claimed that it was due to the presence of lesbian character America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez). However, it has now emerged the real reason for Saudi's hesitation in letting the film release is a scene where the character refers to her “two moms”.
Chinese regulators never officially explained why the movies were banned. This left many to speculate that the trade war tensions between the US and China and the nationalistic policy stance under President Xi Jinping, as well as his repressive tightening of control over civil society, could be the main reason.
The requested edits are “barely 12 seconds” of footage, as Alsabhan explained, in which lesbian character America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) refers to her “two moms.” Disney has declined to make any changes to the film, Alsabhan claims. “It's just her talking about her moms, because she has two moms,” Alsabhan said.
China has reopened its doors to Disney's Marvel Studios for the first time in almost four years, with two new film releases secured in the world's second largest movie market.
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' is the latest Marvel movie to be shut out of China. Here's how it's impacted the MCU at the box office. "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is a box-office hit, but hasn't been released in China.
The cuts amount to “barely 12 seconds” in which a lesbian character, America Chavez, played by the actor Xochitl Gomez, refers to her “two moms”, according to Nawaf Alsabhan, Saudi Arabia's general supervisor of cinema classification. “It's just her talking about her moms, because she has two moms,” Alsabhan said.
In Short. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has been banned in UAE and Saudi Arabia. The film won't release because of censorship rules. Fans speculate that it is because of the trans-flag in Gwen's room.
China allows only a limited number of American films to play in its theaters every year, so it “bans” Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Sony, and Paramount films all the time by refusing to give permission for them to play in Chinese cinemas.
In 1996, Disney was banned from China over Kundun, a Martin Scorsese film featuring repression in Tibet and sympathetic to the Dalai Lama. After initial resistance, then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner apologized, saying it was "a form of insult to our friends."
Experts have speculated the reasons could include the inclusion of LGBTQ characters, comments critical of China by people involved in the films, like “Eternals” director Chloé Zhao, and broader U.S.-China tensions over trade and other issues.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is banned in Kuwait, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia owing to the LGBTQ+ content in the movie. This has to do with the presence of America Chavez, an openly gay Latin American superhero.
Marvel's “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” has been banned from theaters in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries in the Persian Gulf. The ban is due to the presence of a gay character in the upcoming Marvel film.
The “Doctor Strange” sequel, which will go on release in the U.S. on May 6, was initially slated for release in the Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries on May 5. But in the region, movies concerning or containing sex, hom*osexuality and religious issues are routinely cut to comply with censorship rules.
The film was not shown in theaters in the Middle East, mainland China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam, West Africa, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Most of the aforementioned countries either outlaw hom*osexual behavior or consider hom*osexuality to be taboo.
Global Times, a nationalist tabloid controlled by the Communist Party, published commentary that cited the racist origin of the character. Readers of Shang-Chi comic books in the 1970s saw Asian faces colored in unnatural oranges and yellows.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” was not released in China after Sony rejected a request to delete scenes that include the Statue of Liberty, a new report claims. In China, films are reviewed by the China Film Administration under the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
However, for about three-and-a-half years, China imposed an unofficial ban on Marvel movies. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Eternals are some films that did not reach Chinese theaters.
Introduction: My name is Gregorio Kreiger, I am a tender, brainy, enthusiastic, combative, agreeable, gentle, gentle person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
