Skip to main content

Saudi Arabia bans new Spider-Man movie that features transgender flag

A few issues of censorship of LGBTQ content have occurred in the Gulf recently, though Saudi authorities did not say exactly why “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” will not be shown.
Kurt Tocci attends the world premiere of "Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse."

Saudi Arabia will not allow the new Spider-Man movie to be broadcast in the kingdom, authorities said on Tuesday, possibly due to its transgender content. 

The official Saudi Cinema page on Twitter said on Tuesday that it will not approve any film that “contradicts content controls” in reference to the latest Spider-Man film entitled “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” The decision will remain in place unless the production companies “commit to implementing the required amendments,” according to the tweet.

This followed a Sunday tweet in which the account had written “Always get news from the official sources” above a photo of the film.

The page is run by the Saudi General Commission for Audiovisual Media.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.