Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is getting plenty of hype ahead of its release, a lot of which is thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home and its electric finale. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man teaming up with the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield versions was great. So it is surprising to know that China was asking Sony to remove or trim down the scene.
China asking American movie studios to edit out scenes is common practice these days. Fantastic Beasts 3 is a prime example, as Warner Bros. ended up removing a whopping six seconds that reference Dumbledore’s homosexuality. So why did China ask Sony and Marvel to trim down the finale of Spider-Man: No Way Home?
What’s China’s problem with the Spider-Man: No Way Home finale?
According to Puck News, China wanted to ax the Spider-Man: No Way Home climax because the Statue of Liberty was in it. Sony CEO Tom Rothman didn’t go through with the request because Lady Liberty plays such a huge part in the finale since the entire final battle takes place in it.
It seems that China was hoping for some kind of compromise as the report goes on to say that they wanted the finale trimmed down since its removal was denied. Unsurprisingly, Sony ended up holding their ground and not removing the scene, resulting in the third MCU Spider-Man film not showing in China. This is kind of awkward since the first two movies did show in China.
Will Sony and Marvel regret not giving in to these demands?
Spider-Man: No Way Home is Sony’s most profitable movie thus far, making $2 billion at the box office. While big Chinese box office numbers are something American movie studios always consider, $2 billion shows that Sony was right in not nixing the epic scene.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could also end up not showing in China since LGBT character America Chavez will be making her MCU debut in the film. Like the Statue of Liberty finale, she’s an integral part of the movie and it seems that Marvel Studios will not budge regarding that matter.
If this article made you nostalgic over that amazing end sequence, Spider-Man: No Way Home is now available on Blu-Ray and digital stores. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be hitting theaters on May 6.
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