Marvel’s Eternals banned in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait over gay content

Marvel Studio’s latest Eternals has reportedly been banned in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, as per The Hollywood Reporter. The publication was told by sources that the gay relationship in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie may have been the reason. In the Chloe Zhao directorial, Brian Tyree Henry’s Phastos, one of the member of the titular beings who is a weapon inventor and technology expert, is a gay man and also shares a kiss in the movie with his husband Ben (played by Haaz Sleiman). This is the first time that a same-sex couple has been depicted in a Marvel film. As per the website, edit requests were made by the local censors that Disney was not willing to make. The film was expected to release across the Gulf on November 11. The film is still expected to come out in the United Arab Emirates.

Written by Zhao, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo, Eternals introduces a new group of superheroes, the titular Eternals, who have lived in secret on earth for 7000 years. Created by entities called Celestials, they were tasked with protecting the earth from the Deviants, their misshapen and evil counterparts. Eternals features a huge ensemble cast of actors. Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Lia McHugh, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Gil Birmingham, Harish Patel, and Kit Harington. Homosexuality is still officially illegal across the Gulf, and films containing anything related to LGBTQ issues are frequently pulled from release. Last year, the Pixar title Onward was banned across Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia over a single line referencing a lesbian relationship.