The film will be different than anything Kevin Feige’s MCU has attempted before — for example, it features the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first sex scene and first same-sex kiss, both of which have already garnered backlash from some viewers.
As a matter of fact, Marvel’s refusal to remove a kiss between Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and his on-screen husband, played by Lebanese-American actor Haaz Sleiman has resulted in the film being banned in multiple Middle Eastern markets.
Marvel’s Eternals will not hit cinema screens in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or Qatar, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The all-star superhero film, which was due for release across the Gulf region on Nov. 11, is understood to have been met with a series of edit requests by the local censors, edits that THR has heard Disney was not willing to make.
THR‘s report continued, noting that this isn’t the first time a film under The Walt Disney Company banner has been pulled from movie theaters in the Persian Gulf region:
Homosexuality is still officially illegal across the Gulf, and films containing anything related to LGBTQ issues are frequently pulled from release. Last year, the Pixar title Onward was banned across Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia over a single line referencing a lesbian relationship.
Marvel Studios’ Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.
The movie features an all-star cast including Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, and Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie.
Are you looking forward to Eternals?
You can stream Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and the four series in Marvel’s Phase Four so far — Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s WandaVision, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, and Marvel’s What If…?— on Disney+ anytime.
Comments Off on Marvel’s Next Blockbuster Has Been Banned In Multiple Markets
Credit: Marvel Studios
