10 Stunning Facts About 2019’s Biggest Movies
7. The Rise Of Skywalker Was Censored In The Middle East
For a movie to be truly successful at the box office, foreign markets are just as important, if not more so, than the domestic numbers. However, they can sometimes cause problems if there are certain scenes that clash with the culture of other countries. This is when censorship comes into play.
The latest blockbuster movie to be affected by this is Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The conscious effort from J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm to make the franchise more inclusive and diverse is of course welcomed in the Western world, but a stronger LBGTQ presence has caused the movie to be edited and censored in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.
The scene in question shows the heroes of the final battle celebrating, when in the background, two female characters share an embrace and a kiss. This was deemed inappropriate enough to be removed from the movie.