UAE and KSA Ban the Release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The much-awaited new release in the Spider-Man film series, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, has been banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the Middle East according to a report by Esquire Middle East.

It was expected to make its debut on June 22nd throughout the nation in advance of the upcoming Eid Al Adha celebrations. The film is a follow-up to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), which showed Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as a new Spider-Man who partners with Spider-Verse versions from other universes.

The General Commission for Audiovisual Media, which oversees Saudi Cinema, announced on Tuesday that the eagerly anticipated film would not be released in the Kingdom.

The authority declared that the film "contradicts the content controls in force" and stated that it would not be shown in local cinemas until specific scenes were changed.

The social media statement said, "Out of our keenness on the safety of the content shown in cinemas, and our responsibility towards the viewers, we would like to point out that we will not permit or license any film that contradicts the content controls in force in the media system, and it's implementing regulations unless the production companies commit to implementing the required amendments.”

The official information was revealed after days of rumors on Reddit and other media, in which multiple parties claimed to have spoken to local exhibitors, especially Vox Cinemas, the largest theatrical cinema company in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and received word that the movie will not be released.
 

Early in 2022, Walt Disney-Pixar's animated feature film "Lightyear" was banned from playing in theaters by the UAE and other GCC nations because it contained characters who were in a same-sex relationship.