Photo: Warner Bros.
Mentions of a past romance betweenJude Lawand Mads Mikkelsen’sFantastic Beastscharacters have been edited out for its release in China, where censoring of LGBTQ+ content is common.
The third installment in theHarry Potterprequel series,Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, has already opened overseas (it hits theaters in the U.S. this Friday). After aninternational news outletreported that dialogue directly referencing a relationship between wizards Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald had been removed for rollout in China, Warner Bros. confirmed the decision toVariety.
About six seconds were cut, including one of Law’s lines about “the summer Gellert and I fell in love.”
Warner Bros. said in a statement toVariety, “As a studio, we’re committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release, and that extends to circumstances that necessitate making nuanced cuts in order to respond sensitively to a variety of in-market factors.”
“In the case ofFantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, a six-second cut was requested and Warner Bros. accepted those changes to comply with local requirements but the spirit of the film remains intact. We want audiences everywhere in the world to see and enjoy this film, and it’s important to us that Chinese audiences have the opportunity to experience it as well, even with these minor edits.”
A spokesperson for Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Back in 2007,Potterauthor J.K. Rowling — now a controversial figure for heroutspoken views on feminism and transgender rights— first revealed that hercharacter Dumbledore is gay. However, this third entry in theFantastic Beastsfranchise, for which she writes the screenplays, is the first to explore his romantic life.
In 2018, while promoting the secondFantastic Beastsfilm, Law, 49, toldEntertainment Weeklyabout playing a younger Dumbledore and how the character’s sexuality factors into the unfolding story: “Jo Rowling revealed some years back that Dumbledore was gay. That was a question I actually asked Jo and she said, ‘Yes, he’s gay.’ But as with humans, your sexuality doesn’t necessarily define you; he’s multifaceted,” he said at the time.
Mikkelsen joins the franchise as villain Grindelwald, replacing Johnny Depp in the role after he wasasked to resign in 2020 after losing a U.K. libel casethat involved allegations of domestic violence.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore— which also stars Ezra Miller, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Callum Turner, William Nadylam and Jessica Williams — is in theaters Friday.
source: people.com
