No matter your thoughts on “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (and if social media is any indication everyone has plenty of thoughts), everyone can likely agree that the idea that the film includes the first real LGBTQ representation in the franchise is…uh, barely true. However, apparently the scene in question is controversial enough to already get censored in some countries.
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**MINOR SPOILERS for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker**
**Seriously, very minor, but just being safe**
According to THR and Yahoo, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene that showed two female Resistance members embracing and kissing has been censored from both the United Arab Emirates and Singapore. Seriously, if you haven’t seen the film, imagine the bare minimum time it takes to show two people kiss and that’s all you get in ‘Rise of Skywalker.’ And to top it off, it’s in the background.
However, as the film opens around the world, reports are coming in that the scene has been entirely removed or shortened (in Singapore, for example, the cut occurs right after the hug). Interestingly, the premier nation for censorship, China, has kept the scene intact. Though, no one would know, as ‘Rise of Skywalker’ isn’t registering more than a blip in that country.
While this news isn’t that surprising, with these countries setting earlier precedent with censoring same-sex intimacy in films, it’s likely going to be a bit of a headache for Disney/Lucasfilm, as fans around the world have already been vocal about how insincere it appears the filmmakers were about their inclusion of LGBTQ characters.
In a previous interview with Variety, co-writer/director JJ Abrams teased the LGBTQ representation before the film’s release, exciting many who expected to finally see “Star Wars” be more inclusive.
“And in the case of the LGBTQ community, it was important to me that people who go to see this movie feel that they’re being represented in the film,” Abrams said.
He added, “I will say I’m giving away nothing about what happens in the movie. But I did just say what I just said.”
In light of what that LGBTQ inclusivity looked like in the final film, many are criticizing Lucasfilm and Disney for not truly attempting to have representation, instead just doing the bare minimum. The same situation occurred after the release of “Avengers: Endgame,” which also was teased as having LGBTQ representation but, in fact, only had one brief scene.
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is in theaters now.