Fantastic Beasts 3 Gets Censored In China

Brief allusions to a gay relationship have been removed from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore to accommodate Chinese censors. Warner Bros. made the call, and the cuts, which apparently represent only six seconds of the movie’s 142-minute runtime. The edits were to dialogue that implied a romantic past between Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen). The revelation that Albous Dumbledore is a gay man came in 2009, after the books were over, and has never been explicitly referenced on film. Rather than appearing in an actual story, the revelation came from author J.K. Rowling, who also advises on the Fantastic Beasts films.

News.com.au reports that the lines removed were “because I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love.” The series has been criticized by fans and LGBT advocates for failing to actually depict the relationships Rowling has suggested exist.

“As a studio, we’re committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release, and that extends to circumstances that necessitate making nuanced cuts in order to respond sensitively to a variety of in-market factors,” Warner Bros. said in a statement to Variety. “Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets. In the case of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, a six-second cut was requested and Warner Bros. accepted those changes to comply with local requirements but the spirit of the film remains intact. We want audiences everywhere in the world to see and enjoy this film, and it’s important to us that Chinese audiences have the opportunity to experience it as well, even with these minor edits.”

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore debuted in 22 countries this weekend and pulled in a total of $58 million, including opening at #1 in China with just shy of $10 million there. 

David Yates (Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) directs from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling & Steve Kloves, based upon a screenplay by Rowling. Starring Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, William Nadylam, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Victoria Yeates, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Fiona Glascott, Katherine Waterston, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Richard Coyle, Oliver Masucci, Valerie Pachner, and Mads Mikkelsen, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore opens in North American theaters on April 15.