Saudi Arabia has asked Disney to cut an LGBTQ scene from Doctor Strange 2 before it can be screened in the Middle Eastern country.
Doctor Strange is set in the Multiverse of Madness, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams and Elizabeth Olsen and is due to be released next week.
But Saudi officials want a 12-second clip in which a lesbian character refers to her “two moms” to be edited out of the Marvel movie.
Nawaf Alsabhan, Saudi Arabia’s general supervisor of cinema classification, said: “It’s just her talking about her moms, because she has two moms. Being in the Middle East, it’s very tough to pass something like this.”
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He added: “We sent it to the distributor, and the distributor sent it to Disney, and Disney has told us they are not willing.”
The Mirror has reached out to Disney for comment.
Although Saudi officials are not happy, Alsabhan said the movie had not been banned outright.
He told news agency Agence France-Presse: “It will never be banned. There’s no reason to ban the film. It’s a simple edit... so far they have refused. But we haven’t closed the door. We’re still trying.”
But it is thought the film has already been pulled in other Gulf countries, such as Kuwait and Qatar, as advanced tickets are no longer available on cinema websites.
Homosexuality is illegal across the Gulf and films that feature any LGBTQ references often fail to get past censors.
America Chavez, played by Xochitl Gomez, is a queer hero in the Doctor Strange sequel who is new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Director Sam Rami revealed she plays a major role in the film as Strange battles through the Multiverse.
He told Empire magazine: “Strange is still learning about the Multiverse - and here’s a character that can actually travel through it.
“He’s such a know-it-all all the time, and to have to learn from a kid probably smarts.”
It is not the first time a Marvel movie has failed to get past Middle Eastern cinema regulators.
Eternals, which features a gay couple and Marvel’s first gay superhero, was pulled from release in November.
Outside of Marvel, other films which failed to hit Gulf cinemas include West Side Story. This was because it featured a transgender character called Anybodys, played by nonbinary actress Iris Menas.
In 2017 Saudi Arabia lifted a ban on cinemas, which had been in place since the early 1980s.
It was part of a series of social reforms spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to shake up the deeply conservative kingdom.
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