Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s LGBTQ Kiss Is Being Censored in the Middle East

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is just hours away from its release stateside, but the movie has gone live for so many around the world. As the final installment of the Skywalker Saga, millions are eager to see what the movie has in store, but it seems some audiences did not get the entire film as intended. A new report has gone live confirming a LGBTQ scene in The Rise of Skywalker has been censored in the Middle East.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the scene has been censored in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates. Several audiences members reached out to the trade to share the censored moment after the Star Wars movie went live Thursday.

Currently, The Hollywood Reporter is waiting on comment from Disney about the censored scene, but the publication has yet to hear back.

For those who care to know the scene in question, it is a mild moment towards the end of The Rise of Skywalker. The scene features two pilots share a same-sex kiss in the background. The scene is reportedly present in the theatrical cut screening in China, but the United Arab Emirates pushed against the cut.

Given the country’s status for entertainment, The Hollywood Reporter says the United Arab Emirates is likely the first of many Middle East countries to censor the moment. The cut is thought to “be replicated across the Middle East” at this time.

This is not the first time films have been censored in the Middle East for LGBTQ content or even outright banned as was Brokeback Mountain. Even heterosexual scenes have been censored; Last year, Black Panther had nearly a minute cut out which shows T’Challa kissing Nakia. The Wolf of Wall Street had even more aggressive cuts made as 45 minutes were ultimately removed from the critical hit. Now, it seems Star Wars is the latest movie to be altered by Middle Eastern censors despite the franchise’s attempt to better represent the LGBTQ community.

What do you make of this bout of censorship? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters on December 20th. You can catch The Mandalorian on Disney+ right now.