The new movie "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" was banned in several Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East for favorably portraying transgenderism.
Middle East theater chains VOX Cinemas and ROXY Cinemas initially delayed their release of the film throughout the region. However, several countries have since banned the movie.
Among them are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which Esquire Middle East reported this week have officially barred any show times of the movie, a sequel to 2018's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."
Neither country has an official reason for the decision, but Breitbart noted Thursday that the movie features hints of pro-LGBTQ+ imagery.
One such instance that caused uproar on social media was the appearance of a pink and blue transgender pride flag on the character's door that reads "Protect Trans Kids."
In another scene, a police uniform worn by the character's father features a trans pride flag patch on the lapel.
The move comes one year after the Disney Pixar film "Lightyear" was banned throughout the same region due to its depiction of a lesbian kiss between two characters.
Disney's movie "is not licensed for public screening in all cinemas in the UAE, due to its violation of the country's media content standards," wrote the country's official media regulatory council on Twitter.
"Lightyear" was later pulled from Disney+, the company's streaming service.
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