In Doctor Strange 2, the role of America Chavez will be played by Xochitl Gomez. As in the comics, the MCU’s America Chavez is an LGBTQ+ Latin-American with several superhuman powers, including the ability to travel between dimensions.

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The Hollywood Reporter confirmed from Middle East sources that Doctor Strange 2 has been banned in Saudi Arabia following rumors that began surfacing on Friday morning (April 22). The decision has yet to be officially announced, and apparently, Doctor Strange 2 hasn’t even been reviewed by those responsible for the ultimate decision in Saudi Arabia, but THR notes that its sources say America Chavez’s inclusion in the film is the reason it will be banned in the country. At this time, advance tickets for Doctor Strange 2 are no longer available on cinema websites in Saudi, Kuwait and Qatar. However, early tickets can still be bought in the United Arab Emirates, suggesting Doctor Strange 2 will still release in theaters there.

Because homosexuality is illegal across the Gulf, films featuring LGBTQ+ stories and characters are targeted by censors for edits or outright banishment. As previously mentioned, director Chloé Zhao’s Eternals was banned across the Gulf for the inclusion of a same-sex couple. Censors had reportedly requested cuts to Eternals that Disney, the parent company of Marvel Studios, refused to make, although an edited version of the film did screen in the United Arab Emirates.

News of Doctor Strange 2 being banned in Saudi Arabia comes within a month of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore being censored in China for similar reasons. Censors in the nation requested roughly six seconds of dialogue referring to Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s romantic past be cut from the film, and Warner Bros. complied.

Suffice to say, members of the LGBTQ+ community are likely disappointed to see another film that finally represents them become the target of censors. Hopefully, Disney will stand by its decision and refuse to make cuts to Doctor Strange 2, but only time will tell.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 6, 2022.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter