A tender moment between two female characters in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was reportedly cut in order for the film to be released in Kuwait.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the LGBTQ+ scene involves Michaela Coel’s Aneka and Florence Kasumba’s Ayo. It’s only 10 seconds — Aneka kisses Ayo on the forehead — but was axed at the request of censors. Only one minute in the 2 hour and 41 minute film was taken out, per THR, for the movie’s release overseas. Another scene left out was when a woman gives birth to a child and the following line was removed: “A god to his people.”
THR reports the highly-anticipated Black Panther sequel will be screening unedited in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar, which typically censors LGBTQ+ scenes.
Kuwait isn’t just strict when it comes to same-sex intimacy. In 2018’s original Black Panther, a kiss between T’Challa and Nakia was removed, while a heterosexual kiss was also taken out from Disney’s Encanto.
Yahoo Entertainment reached out to Marvel for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is on track to do huge numbers, domestically and internationally, regardless of any censorship. The sequel earned $28 million in Thursday previews in the U.S., coming in as the No. 15 highest preview haul ever. It’s expected to make around $175 million in its opening weekend, per Deadline.
Stars of the film spoke with Yahoo about continuing on with sequel after the unexpected death of his eponymous hero, Chadwick Boseman, in 2020.
“Because the first thing you’re dealing with is shock. Then coming out of shock, I didn’t want to feel how I was feeling, if that makes sense. So I thought a lot of irrational thoughts. But thankfully I had the time to let those thoughts pass and reflect, and think about what was right, and what he would want. There’s no way I could call him and ask him. But thankfully he communicated what he wanted to tell us through his actions. And I was trying to listen to that, and interpret that, and made the call to keep going,” said director Ryan Coogler.
MORE: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally hits theaters
