Marvel fans are desperately waiting for the long-awaited follow-up to the hit 2016 superhero film Doctor Strange. While the film is set to release across the globe in the first week of May, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been banned in Saudi Arabia. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed the news. Rumours are rife that the ban on the film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, might also be levied in Kuwait, but no official statement has been out as of now. To those wondering why the ban? It is said that the decision came in considering the LGBTQ issues.
Homosexuality is still, officially illegal across the Gulf. Films that feature any LGBTQ references or issues fail to get past censors. Now, the sequel of Doctor Strange will be introducing the character America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez). Now as per her portrayal in comics, she is gay. Following the decision of the authorities, advanced tickets are no longer available on the websites of cinemas in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. Notably, people of UAE can still book tickets suggesting that the film will be released there.
As part of the global rollout, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse was due to be released across the Gulf on May 5. In India, the film will release on May 6. The ticket bookings were open a month before.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse is not the first Marvel movie to face a ban in the Gulf nation. Previously, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals was also banned across much of the Gulf in November. The film had included a same-gender couple in the film and the MCU’s first gay superhero, hence, the ban. At the time, the censors had requested a series of edits to be made in order to release the film, but Disney was not willing to make it. However, an edited version of the film did screen in the U.A.E.
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