Audiences are still coming down off the high that was so graciously given to the world from Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder. The vibrant and wild ride brought Natalie Portman's Jane Foster back into the picture as she became the Mighty Thor alongside Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder.
Before its release, the project was being hyped up by nearly every cast member who gave interviews. Among them was Portman agreeing that the adventure was "the gayest movie ever" made in the MCU.
For many, that's likely a great way to describe it. However, it seems that some countries in the Middle East have also caught onto that particular quality, as the film has started to get bans and indefinite suspensions across the board.
Love and Thunder Gets Banned
Thanks to Al-Qabas on Instagram, it's been revealed that Thor: Love and Thunder has been officially banned in the Middle East country of Kuwait. The decision to ban the project came from the Cinema Committee in the Ministry of Information and was the result of scenes including gay characters. This is far from the first time a Marvel Studios project has been banned for that same reason.
Identity Magazine has also reported that the movie is likely to get banned in several Arab countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia and is already indefinitely postponed in Malaysia. Prior to the news, The Hollywood Reporter is among the many sources to have predicted the inevitable outcome.
In 2021, Eternals was the only major film to be pulled in Saudi Arabia. This year, three massive projects got the same treatment, including the recent movies Lightyear and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), a massive Malaysian theater chain, took a crack at the Love and Thunder ruling by saying: "Welcome to the Multiverse Saga. Malaysia can watch or not? Dunno."
They Weren't Worthy in the First Place
Sadly, it's not all too surprising to see Taika Waititi's film was banned in Kuwait and remain in indefinite purgatory in those other countries mentioned above. One would think that in today's day and age, having a queer character wouldn't be a problem—but then countries like China come and show their metaphorical faces to remind everyone of how backward their governing bodies are.
Hopefully, countries like that can pull themselves together and come to their senses at some point in the future. At the very least, many fans can rest assured that Disney is becoming better at holding its ground on stances like this and avoiding censorship in general. When some countries demanded Eternals be changed to remove LGBTIQA+ aspects, the studio refused to do so.
The problem is only going to get worse in the future. If countries can't get over a gay character, then there are plenty of upcoming key characters who fall into that category, such as Hulkling and Wiccan. This isn't even including the LGBTIQA+ heroes already in play, such as Phastos and Valkyrie.
Could Korg's stoned relationship with another male Kronan have also been a part of this decision? How small must one be to actually get insulted by two rocks liking one another and making a cute new little rock baby?
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters worldwide.
