Warner Bros. Removes Gay Dialogue From Fantastic Beasts 3 In China

Fantastic Beasts 3 is the sequel to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), the third film in the Fantastic Beasts film series, and the eleventh overall in the Wizarding World franchise. Set several years after the events of the previous film, Albus Dumbledore assigns Newt Scamander and his companions to a mission that will take them into the heart of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald’s army. Warner Bros. recently explained the reason for the removal of gay references from the film in China.

Warner Bros. edited references to a gay relationship out of “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” for the film’s release in China. Only six seconds were cut from the film’s 142-minute runtime. The deleted dialogue alluded to the romantic past of male characters Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen). J.K. Rowling revealed Dumbledore’s homosexuality in 2009, but the films had never explicitly addressed the character’s sexuality until this third “Fantastic Beasts” installment.

Warner Bros. agreed to China’s request to cut six seconds from the film. The dialogue lines “because I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love” were cut from the release of “The Secrets of Dumbledore.” The rest of the film remained intact, including the realization that Dumbledore and Grindelwald have an intimate relationship.

“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. Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets.”

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“In the case of ‘Fantastic 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.”

According to Variety, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” dominated the box office in China during its opening weekend. The sequel was released in China on April 8, a week before it was released in the United States on April 15. “The Secrets of Dumbledore” grossed RMB62.2 million ($9.7 million at current exchange rates) in its first three days, giving it a massive 63 percent market share on a weekend worth only $15.5 million.

The Fantastic Beasts film series was initially thought to be a trilogy, but in October 2016, Rowling announced that the series would be comprised of five films, later confirming that the story would consist of a sequence of events that occurred between the years 1926 and 1945. To get the latest updates, keep an eye on Thirsty.

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