Openly gay, lesbian and transgender people face persecution across most of the Arab world where same-sex relations are against the law. And earlier this year, Disney's "Cruella" was not granted a release certificate in Qatar since the local censorship board identified the Artie character as LGBTQ and wanted him removed from film, which instead played in other Middle East territories. Similarly Disney/Pixar family film "Onward" was banned in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman in 2020 due to the film's passing reference to a lesbian relationship. More recently, the first same-sex kiss ever in a "Star Wars" movie, between Commander D'Acy (Amanda Lawrence), a minor supporting character, and another woman in the Resistance in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" was chopped out in the UAE and across the Middle East in 2019. "It made these Arab countries looks so ignorant and pathetic." "They stood their ground and said, 'Nope, we are not going to compromise the integrity of our film,'" Sleiman told Variety in an interview last week. Sleiman, who was raised in a Muslim family in Lebanon before moving to the U.S., where he came out as gay in 2017, has praised Disney for taking a harder stand against Middle East censorship this time. The "Nomadland" director told IndieWire that she asked Marvel not to alter any scenes to appease censors. This is an aspect of "Eternals" that director Chloe Zhao has said in several interviews was already an integral part of Marvel Studios' conception of these characters when she first began discussing the film with the studio.
But it will still be obvious that Phastos and Ben share a child together. In the "Eternals" cut that will play in parts of the Middle East, all scenes of intimacy - both gay and straight - have been cut, which is standard for these markets.
It doesn't mean they didn't chop anything out of "Eternals" for the Middle East it's just that, this time, Disney was willing to make only one version of "Eternals" that would be acceptable across the Arab world, according to sources. “For us to be able to show two people who love each other, not just emotionally and intellectually but also physically, and to have a sex scene that will be seen by a lot of people that shows their love and compassion and gentleness - I think it’s a really beautiful thing.”Įternals will debut in theaters in the US on November 5.Disney, which has declined to comment, is understood to have been unwilling to accommodate requests for different cuts made by various censorship boards in several Middle East nations - something they've been willing to do on past films. And so these scenes just started to happen naturally.” I think it’s happening to superhero films - or at least we’re on the edge of that. I think it’s like Westerns coming into the revisionist period of the 70s. “But I think the desire to do something different is a very natural desire for where Marvel Studios is right now.
“From that moment to what you see onscreen there was definitely a lot of discussion about how to do it,” she says. It’s like us turning on the news and thinking it’s completely hopeless and then going home, looking at our lover and our child and going like, ‘Well actually this is worth fighting for.’”Įternals is also going to feature the MCU’s first-ever sex scene. Obviously, he lost faith in us for some very tough things that we’ve done,” Chloe shared about the character and his arc.Ĭhloe continues, “Then he had to stop looking at us as a whole and look at one person he falls in love with, and one child, to regain the face of humanity. “The way Phastos’ story plays out in the film is that he’s someone who only sees humanity as a whole and believes that technology’s going to solve the problem.
The movie features Phastos, which is the MCU’s first-ever openly gay hero.
“I don’t know all the details but I do believe discussions were had and there’s a big desire from Marvel and myself - we talked about this - to not change the cut of the movie,” she explained about her mission for the Marvel movie. Chloe Zhao is trying to make sure that Eternals screens in every country around the world possible.ĭuring a recent interview with IndieWire, the Oscar winning director opened up about her ambitions to make the movie uncensored, even in those countries which prohibit gay moments on-screen.