One of the many, many things that rule about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is how diverse and inclusive it is. People of every size, shape, colour, gender, and more fill every frame of the film, and while most people would see that as a positive thing, at least one place does not.
Reuters reports that Across the Spider-Verse was set for release June 22 in the United Arab Emirates but, recently, that was changed. It will no longer be released. The country’s media council didn’t address this film in particular but seemingly subtweeted that “any content contradicting the UAE values and principles, and media content standards encouraged within the UAE, will not be allowed for circulation or publication”
So what the heck does that mean? Well, Reuters and others speculate it’s probably the fact that Gwen Stacy has a poster in her room that says “Protect Trans Kids.” That poster is one of several things that have raised a discussion online about whether or not Gwen herself is trans and, well, it seems that even the suggestion or possibility of that is too much for UAE audiences to handle.
io9 has reached out to Sony for possible comment — but Deadline’s story says the company didn’t expect the film to be released there anyway because of the over-the-top censorship, so this isn’t quite a huge blow. Plus this kind of thing has happened over and over. Just last year, Disney’s Lightyear was banned in the region because two women kiss each other…for like .5 seconds. Scandalous!
In other parts of the world, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse remains in theatres and you should 100% see it and cheer when the movie briefly passes by Gwen’s awesome poster.
Want more Gizmodo news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.