China ends four year ban on all Marvel films ahead of Ant-Man and Wakanda Forever
China seems to have binned its de facto ban on Marvel films in an unexpected turn of events.
After more than three years of blocking the release of films including Black Widow, Eternals,Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Thor: Love and Thunder, China has had a change of heart when it comes to the MCU.
Now, for the first time since 2019, two Marvel sequels – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania – will be released in China, which happens to be the world’s second-largest theatrical market.
The nearly four-year drought has cost Marvel Studios millions in ticket sales, but the two sequels, which have been released across the globe since November, will be shown in China from February.
Why China initially seemed to place a ban on the films is unclear, and has caused much debate around the issue.
Some people suspect it might have been a culmination of things, including a reaction to Eternals director Chloé Zhao criticising her home country, as well as a distaste for patriotic American themes and LGBTQ+ characters.
The de facto ban happened when tensions between China and the US were particularly high.
Marvel’s recent announcement, which was made on Chinese social media network Weib, did not explain the sudden change of heart.
The people who censor films in China are the regulators at the China Film Administration (CFA), who are a part of the Chinese Communist party.
Avatar: The Way of Water has also been given the green light by the CFA, and will be released during China’s new year holiday – an especially significant move, as this time of year is usually reserved for domestic films only.
Previously, countries including China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, have requested edits to films such as Eternals and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but these changes often involved erasing LGBTQ+ references, and were denied by Disney.
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