Marvel fans have waited a long time for the follow-up to 2016 superhero film Doctor Strange, but reports say the film has already been banned in Saudi Arabia.
sees return to the role of Dr Stephen Strange, who casts a forbidden spell that opens a portal to the multiverse.
However, and as to be expected, it isn’t plain sailing, as a threat emerges that may be too big for his team to handle.
The film is slated for release next month, but supposedly won’t be shown in Saudi Arabia following its inclusion of an LGBTQ+ character.
According to , rumours are true that the film is banned in the Middle Eastern country, and it is said the ban extends to Kuwait, although this hasn’t been confirmed.
The publication adds that, while the film also hasn’t yet been reviewed, Middle East sources, say the sequel’s introduction of the character America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez) who is gay, contributed to the move.
Homosexuality is illegal across the Gulf, therefore, films featuring LGBTQ+ references or issues often fail to get past censors.
However, advanced tickets for screenings are still on sale in the United Arab Emirates, which implies the movie will be shown there.
This isn’t the first time a Marvel project has faced barriers in its global release due to LGBTQ+ characters.
Back in November, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals was banned across much of the Gulf following the inclusion of the MCU’s first gay superhero.
While an edited version was eventually approved for the UAE, Disney is said to have not been willing to make alterations.
The ban was widely criticised, with as ‘ignorant.’
Angelina said she was ‘sad’ for the in which she plays Thena, over a scene of two men kissing.
‘I’m sad for [those audiences]. And I’m proud of Marvel for refusing to cut those scenes out,’ she said.
‘I still don’t understand how we live in a world today where there’s still [people who] would not see the family Phastos has and the beauty of that relationship and that love.’
At the beginning of this year, West Side Story was also banned in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait, with the film including Anybodys, who was written as transgender and played by non-binary star Iris Menas.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set for release on May 4.
