Chloé Zhao's upcoming Eternals film will not release in several countries, seemingly as a result of the movie's same-sex couple.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Eternals will no longer release in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar on Nov. 11. That outlet claims Disney was given a list of edits by censors in those countries that the studio refused to make. The edits in question reportedly revolved around the movie's on-screen romance between Brian Tyree Henry's Phastos and Haaz Sleiman's Ben. Such relationships are still illegal in many Gulf countries and projects have been pulled in the past for featuring LGBTQ plots, characters and themes.
While Eternals has not yet entered wide release, the cast and crew of the movie have talked on numerous occasions about introducing a prominent gay couple to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Zhao, for her part, said in October that she and Marvel Studios were working to ensure international cuts of the film would not censor Phastos' relationship with Ben.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has promised that, although Eternals introduces the MCU's first gay superhero, it certainly won't be the last project to do so. "There have been gay superheroes in the comics. It is more than past time in the movies," Feige said last month. "It's just the start."
Based on Marvel Comics characters created by Jack Kirby, Eternals takes place following the events of 2019's Avengers: Endgame. In the movie, the titular group of immortal aliens -- who were created by the Celestials -- attempt to protect the world from an event called "The Emergence." Just what that specifically means isn't clear at this time. However, the energy released by the use of the Infinity Stones is what made the event possible. Eternals will also see the titular group fighting against the Deviants, who are essentially their evil counterparts.
At the time of writing, Eternals holds a 53 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, earning it the dubious distinction of being the MCU's lowest-rated movie. Still, Eternals is projected to do well at the box office domestically, tracking ahead of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and just behind Black Widow in advance ticket pre-sales. Both of those films were released earlier this year.
Eternals hits theaters on Friday.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter