The latest phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and several other Disney productions have been quite controversial for other territories. In particular, many of the films’ LGBTQ themes have caused theaters in countries like China or those in the Middle East to ban their films. Now it’s been revealed that Thor: Love and Thunder has been banned by thousands of theaters in China.
It was previously suspected that the film would be banned. Fans have known for quite some time that LGBTQ themes would be included in the film. And, while they ultimately didn’t take up much screen time, it appears to have still been enough for these other territories to ban the film.
As noted via THR:
“Thor 4 is similarly believed to be stuck in China’s censorship process because of some brief LGBTQ moments, including suggestions that the character Valkyrie (played by Tessa Thompson) is bisexual and that the character Korg is gay.”
Indeed, both Thor: Love and Thunder characters Valkyrie and Korg appear to represent different LGBTQ traits. In fact, Korg has several such scenes which display as much. The character reveals that he not only has two fathers but he acquires a new boyfriend in one scene as well. As such, it seems it was too much for China, and the country appears to have used that as one of their reasons to ban Thor: Love and Thunder entirely.
It’s unclear how Disney will continue to release their films in the future – because they’ve so far chosen not to censor them. But, given the consistent number of bans, they are losing millions of dollars as a result. So it will indeed be interesting to see what happens going forward.
Taika Waititi directed Thor: Love and Thunder from a script he wrote with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. Thor: Love and Thunder has a cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale. The film also features Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Jeff Goldblum, and Vin Diesel.
Fans can currently see Thor: Love and Thunder in theaters.