Tom Holland starrer Spider-Man: No Way Home is yet to be released in China. While there are many reasons as to why the Marvel blockbuster was delayed, the latest reason is China’s strict censorship policies.
China's history of banning Marvel Studios' blockbusters goes back further than Spider-Man: No Way Home. In 2021, Eternals was similarly prohibited in the country as the Chinese government took issue with director Chloé Zhao's public criticism of the CCP.
Sony has reportedly rejected China's request to remove footage of the Statue of Liberty for the local release of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
According to Puck, which cites multiple insider sources, Chinese authorities wanted Sony and Marvel Studios to remove the American landmark which predominately features in No Way Home's climax. Sony allegedly refused "immediately," prompting an alteration to the request that would see the Statue of Liberty left in the film but with modifications to its representation.
China reportedly wanted less emphasis placed on the structure, requesting that Sony cut the "more patriotic shots of [Tom] Holland standing atop the crown." After considering the changes, the request was ultimately rejected. Ultimately, Spider-Man: No Way Home failed to release in China.
Unlike China and Spider-Man controversy, several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait, banned Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness due to its inclusion of an openly gay character. China has reportedly also banned the film after a message criticizing the Chinese Communist Party was observed in one of the trailers.
For the unversed, Spider-Man: No Way Home became the most successful film of all time and it is MCU’s third Spidey movie which is currently the sixth-highest-grossing movie of all time, trailing the likes of Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Infinity War.
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