Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is proving to a be a hit, raking in both profits and praise, but at least one country is declining to release the film at all.
The highly anticipated sequel to the 2018 film was supposed to premiere in the United Arab Emirates next week, but recently failed to make it past the censorship board.
While there has been no public reason given for this, sources told Variety that one of the “concerns” from censors was a sign in the background of a scene reading “Protect Trans Kids.”
Movies with LGBTQ+ scenes—no matter how minimal—have regularly been banned from being released in conservative countries, with Lightyear and Strange Worldsbeing two of the largest examples last year.
To some extent, these bans mark a change in how Hollywood companies deal with international releases. Even in recent years, there has been outrage over discovering LGBTQ+ scenes have been cut in order to gain release in homophobic countries, drawing further criticism as such actions suggest LGBTQ+ characters or moments are sidelined in these films specifically so they can easily be extracted for international audiences.
Across the Spider-Verse has also sparked suggestions among fans that the character of Gwen Stacy herself is trans, although the canon doesn’t explicitly confirm this. There are design elements—including the apparently controversial “Protect Trans Kids” sign—that at least hint at it though, and her narrative arc has resonated with trans fans either way.
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