Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to 2018’s Oscar-winning Into the Spider-Verse, is out on June 2, 2023. The production exceeded expectations at the box office, while receiving full marks from both critics and viewers. So much so that the film has grossed more than $412 million worldwide, more than four times its budget so far. It would not be wrong to predict that this gain will increase in the coming weeks.
If we talk without giving too many spoilers, this time the movie is about Miles Morales going to other universes and what happened after. We also see hundreds of Spider-Man variants in the movie, including Spider-Man 2099 and Spider-Punk. Of course, as in the first movie, Spider-Gwen, voiced by Hailee Stanfield, appears again. Here is a scene with this character, which caused the successful movie to be banned in a country.
Across the Spider-Verse is banned in the United Arab Emirates: probably because of a poster that appeared in Gwen Stacy’s room
According to Variety, Across the Spider-Verse was banned in the United Arab Emirates due to censorship. The film would normally release in the country on June 22; but the news showed that this would not happen.
There is no official explanation for the reason for the ban; but it’s probably due to a scene in the movie. A scene with Gwen Stacy (or Spider-Gwen) in her room features a poster that reads “Protect Trans Children.” It is thought that this poster caused the movie to be banned in the country.
This is not the first time we have seen such a move from the UAE. The country had previously banned some films for similar reasons. For example, another animation, “Lightyear,” was banned because of two people of the same sex kissing. Such decisions were made in the region for similar reasons about other Marvel movies such as Eternals and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer