Saudi Arabia has outlawed the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The film, a sequel to the 2016 hit Doctor Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch, will be released in theatres worldwide next month.
However, earlier on 22nd April 2022, rumours began to circulate online that Multiverse of Madness would not be released in Saudi Arabia.
According to “Middle East sources,” the apparent ban was caused by the inclusion of a gay character in the film.
According to the Reporter, movies with LGBT references may be banned by Saudi censors, and the new Doctor Strange features a lesbian character, America Chavez. In Saudi Arabia, homosexual relationships are illegal.
The sequel to ‘Doctor Strange,’ which will be released in the United States on May 6, was originally scheduled to open in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries on May 5.
According to Variety, the Saudi Arabian censors refused to grant the Benedict Cumberbatch-led superhero film a distribution certificate.
Prior to ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,’ Marvel’s ‘The Eternals,’ which featured a same-gender couple romance and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first gay superhero, was banned in Saudi Arabia.
