Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Banned in United Arab Emirates

Amid tons of critical acclaim and love from fans, it looks like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has been banned in one part of the world. On Thursday, a report from Variety confirmed that Across the Spider-Verse will not screen in the United Arab Emirates, after failing to meet the country’s censorship guidelines. While the exact reason for the ban is unclear, sources cited in the report indicate that it could partially be tied to the “Protect Trans Lives” banner shown in the bedroom of Gwen Stacy / Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld). This comes just one week before Across the Spider-Verse was set to begin screening in the country.

Across the Spider-Verse isn’t the only animated film to be banned in the United Arab Emirates in the past year, as Pixar’s Lightyear suffered a similar fate due to the depiction of a same-sex kiss.

What is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse about?

Miles Morales returns to the big screen with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse now playing in theaters after premiering on June 2nd. Miles (Shamiek Moore) reunites with fellow heroes Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) and Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) for another web-swinging adventure through the multiverse, finding himself at odds with the Spider-Society led by Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac). Other new heroes include Spider-Woman Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), and Pavitr Prabhakar (Karan Soni), while new villain the Spot (Jason Schwartzman) also enters the fray. The sequel to Sony Pictures’ hit 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, and written by the team of Chris Miller, Phil Lord, and Dave Callaham.

“[We were asking] ‘Wait, so this is what a two-and-a-half-hour movie?’” senior character animator Ere Santos explained last year. “This is a really large story that they’re telling. And with all the arcs that they wanted to put in, we were just thinking this was going to be an intense, quick, fast-paced, high-energy movie. But it would have been good. It would have been like, what they were planning was gonna be like Endgame-esque stuff. Like it was huge. And what they’re planning is still huge. But then kind of spreading it out and into two gives it that breathing room we all felt that it really needed to kind of go, ‘Okay, what do you what do we need to set up in the second movie? And how can we resolve it in the third movie? Or not?’ I don’t know. We’ll have to see.”

What do you think of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse? being banned in the United Arab Emirates? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing exclusively in theaters.