Once upon a time China was one of Marvel’s best customers. Avengers: Endgame made $629 million there alone. For Iron Man Three, they added multiple scenes in which characters tout the Chinese-made technology saved Tony Stark’s life. The affair has been over for a while now. Since Black Widow, MCU titles have not been granted permission to play in one of the largest moviegoing markets on the planet. That will likely include Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, possibly for a specific — and unsurprising — reason.
China never formally announces that they’ve blocked films from release, much less the reason(s) why. But as per The Hollywood Reporter, among the possible explanations for why the sequel — whose predecessor Hoovered up some $105 million in China almost five years back — doesn’t appear to be headed for the People’s Republic of China is this: It has gay characters. In the film, Michaela Coel, who earned accolades for her show I May Destroy You, plays the Wakandan warrior Aneka, who is in a relationship with the Dora bodyguard Ayo (Florence Kasumba).
There are other likely reasons, too. THR speculates that there may be a de facto band on any Marvel product. Others wonder if they’re still peeved about comments made by Shang-Chi star Simu Liu and Eternals director Chloé Zhao that were critical of China.
Chinese censors have a history of demanding cuts from films that feature gay content and blocking them when studios refuse to comply. Fox played ball with Bohemian Rhapsody, and Warner Bros. elided dialogue about Dumbledore’s homosexuality from the most recent Fantastic Beasts. Disney, however, has held firm, refusing to budge on their Beauty and the Beast redo, Eternals, and Lightyear. But if Wakanda Forever has no chance of playing China, then those talks don’t even need to happen.
Black Panther 2 isn’t the only film China probably won’t let its citizens see. Black Adam is also expected to be denied to the world’s second largest moviegoing market. Star Dwayne Johnson is a huge draw in China, so why block it? THR has a theory: Third-billed Pierce Brosnan posted a photo of him meeting the Dalai Lama 19 years ago, and kissing up to Tibet is a good way to get your movies banned. Still, both will almost certainly do just fine in the end.
(Via THR)