Marvel Studios' apparent losing streak in China continues with Thor: Love and Thunder, which is unlikely to receive a release date in the territory due to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters and scenes.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, insiders in China believe the fourth instalment in the Thor saga is unlikely to be given the green light by Chinese censors owing to elements such as Korg's two fathers and his on-screen moment with another Kronan, as well as lines suggesting Valkyrie is bisexual.
This would make the film the sixth Marvel Studios release since 2021 to be banned from Chinese theaters. The trend began with Black Widow and includes Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
It may be worth noting that, while each title was seemingly banned for separate and unrelated reasons, each release and subsequent ban came at a time when the Communist Party-ruled government was cracking down on mainstream culture and the influence of foreign media. The CCP's Central Propaganda Department -- the government body responsible for reviewing and greenlighting foreign films, among other things -- has never made public the reasons behind its decision for each release.
The MCU Can't Escape Controversy in China
The release of most of the six films has thus far been preceded by some measure of controversy. Several months before the release of Eternals, an old interview featuring director Chloé Zhao resurfaced in which she described China as a place full of "lies." Similarly, ahead of the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, an old interview with star Simu Liu resurfaced, in which he detailed the difficult experiences of his parents and grandparents as they lived in and fled from Communist China.
China often heavily censors LGBTQ+ elements in media, and creators who publish material focusing on or including LGBTQ+ characters or stories have been arrested in the past for breaking what are commonly referred to as "obscenity laws."
Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi has previously discussed his views on telling LGBTQ+ stories and including certain characters in his films. He stated, "We're all queer... Just to varying degrees of where we are on the [sexuality] spectrum, I think. I think, innately, humans have all got some degree of queerness in them."
Thor: Love and Thunder is playing in theaters now.
Source: THR