In a little over a week, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives in theaters around the world. However, some fans in the Middle East may be missing out on the action. The cinema board in Saudi Arabia is looking for some changes before the film’s release, particularly the removal of a 12-second scene that refers to LGBTQ characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It was previously revealed that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had been banned in Saudi Arabia. The sale of advance tickets had been stopped, and any content related to the film was withdrawn. There were additional reports that Kuwait and Qatar had also followed suit and banned the film. However, new reports confirm that Saudi Arabia has so far only asked for an edit in the film prior to its release and is still in conversation with Disney.
In an interview with AFP (via The Guardian), Nawaf Alsabhan, Saudi Arabia's general supervisor of cinema classification, revealed that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had not been banned in the country just yet. “There’s no reason to ban the film. It’s a simple edit,” he said. The edit refers to a scene in the film where Xochitl Gomez's America Chavez, a lesbian character in the Marvel Comics, talks about her “two moms.” Due to cultural restrictions in the Middle East, Alsabhan stated that “it’s very tough to pass something like this.”
The request was forwarded by Alsabhan's department to the distributor, who then sent it on to Disney. However, the media conglomerate has refused to make any edits to the film and plans to keep it whole globally. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was initially slated for release in Saudi Arabia on May 5. While it might not be officially banned in the country, the censorship division has not issued a permit to release it either. If Disney fails to comply with the country’s request, it seems unlikely that it will premiere in theaters at all.
This won’t be the first time that a Marvel film will be banned in the country. When The Eternals released in November 2021, Saudi Arabia had asked Disney for edits on the film as well. The film features a gay couple and one of the main protagonists, Brian Tyree Henry's Phastos, is an LGBTQ+ character. The film was, therefore, not given permission to release in some Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premieres in theaters on May 6, 2022.
Source: The Guardian