Over the past year, Marvel Studios has released three major films, and not one has been distributed in China. There is a range of reasons for that, each related to the Communist Party-ruled government and its increasingly severe restrictions on entertainment. Unlike its Marvel Cinematic Universe predecessors, Spider-Man: No Way Home's fate in China is a lot more uncertain.

On the outside, the casual observer would be forgiven for thinking that Marvel Studios just had rotten luck this year. After all, Chinese state censors had given all the studio's films the green light. When Black Widow was released in theaters and on Disney+, it was reported the film had been widely pirated in China, which may have played a role in ensuring it never received theatrical release. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was controversial for a list of reasons, which seemed only to grow. The recently released Eternals has not been given a release date either, and it's unlikely it ever will, considering the controversy in China surrounding director Chloé Zhao.

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Peter Parker/Spider-Man during a confrontation with Doctor Strange from Spider-Man: No Way Home

Things start to make sense when the Communist Party's centennial is taken into consideration. The government has effectively ordered theaters to screen at least two propaganda films a week for the entire year. More than that, the state has cracked down more intensely on entertainment and what audiences are allowed to enjoy, in film, on TV, in books, etc. The goal is to promote ideology the government approves of, and the kind of individualism, idolization and creative license that Hollywood productions tend to promote do not fall in line with any of that. However, that's not to say foreign films are no longer allowed. As successful as Chinese films such as The Battle at Lake Changjin have been, the government still recognizes the economic value of Hollywood features.

That brings us to Spider-Man: No Way Home, whose title character is popular in China. For comparison, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home grossed $116 million and $199 million, respectively, in the Middle Kingdom alone, and there is a lot of buzz on Chinese social media for the upcoming installment. But it isn't just the MCU's Spider-Man that has drawn those numbers: Spider-Man films have always performed well in China.

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Cletus Kasady and Carnage poster for Venom: Let There Be Carnage

The other advantage that No Way Home has is that it is still a Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group production through Columbia Pictures. Unlike Marvel Studios and Disney, Sony -- and, by extension, its subsidiaries --  has had a more positive relationship with the state, aided by a deal between Sony and Chinese theaters and firms, such as Dalian Wanda Group. Of course, that doesn't necessarily guarantee a release. Sony's Venom: Let There Be Carnage still hasn't been able to screen in Chinese theaters.

So is it just superhero films that are being barred from Chinese cinemas? It could be. There is a monumental cultural shift taking place across the Asian superpower, and it's clear the majority of entertainment will be affected. That very much includes Hollywood hits. The films that have been released into China this year include Dune -- which doesn't conflict with the CCP's ideology -- and No Time to Die, which appears superficially agreeable with the Party's masculine ideals.

The bad news for Spider-Man: No Way Home is that it's unlikely to get a release date. At least not this year, while the CCP tries to change things for its centennial. By the looks of it, this time around, there will be no controversy or arbitrary issue thrown at it to justify the lack of a release date. Just silence.

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