The release date for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is approaching, with the film hitting theaters next month. With such a tight schedule before the film is finally released, the promotional campaign has been put into high gear for Marvel. This includes international countries, one of which has just received an edited Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness poster. As it turns out, there’s one aspect to the original poster that’s actually offensive to Italians.
Doctor Strange, as played by Benedict Cumberbatch, has utilized a variety of hand gestures over the years to accomplish his many spells. One such gesture is illustrated on the new poster, which fans can see below has been edited on the Italian version. It just so happens that the gesture featured on the original poster is actually an offensive one in Italy.
As you can see below:
In the Italian version of the Doctor Strange poster, Steven’s left hand gesture has been changed because the original one has a very different meaning here in Italy …
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While fans in the United States might recognize the original hand gesture to correspond with heavy metal, if anything, that isn’t the case for Italians. In their country, and several others, the gesture happens to represent something much different. It’s actually used to imply that the person it’s directed towards is a cuckold. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it’s used for people whose wives are sexually unfaithful. So, naturally, Marvel wants to avoid anyone getting the wrong idea with their poster.
Of course, it’ll be interesting to see if the Italian release of the film has any further alterations. The hand gesture on the original poster is often used by Doctor Strange within the films, so it’s possible that it could be further edited when the movie hits theaters in Italy. Or perhaps they’ll only enforce these changes on the posters. In any case, it’s an interesting sight, and shows that Marvel and Disney are eager to be understanding when it comes to other cultures.
The highly-anticipated sequel to Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, will be released in theaters on May 4, 2022.