'Marvel's Eternals' Movie Receives Mature Rating in Russia for Openly Gay Superhero

Marvel's Eternals gets saddled with a mature rating in Russia because of its openly gay superhero. Following the blockbuster success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the MCU will once again return to theaters in November with Eternals. The millennia-spanning film was originally scheduled to premiere last year, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed it to 2021. Just like Shang-Chi, Eternals will receive a theaters-only release and hopefully continue to further the domestic box office's recovery. Aiding the movie's prospects are its star-studded cast and director, Chloé Zhao, who made history earlier this year by winning Best Director at the Oscars.

Eternals stands to be among the MCU's most diverse projects yet, between its inclusive ensemble and its firsts. In addition to having the franchise's first deaf hero in Lauren Ridloff's Makkari, Eternals holds its first openly gay character. Brian Tyree Henry plays Phastos, one of the Eternals who creates the team's weapons and tech. He's confirmed to be married to another man, and the two will reportedly share a kiss onscreen. After years of fans calling for genuine LGBTQ representation in the MCU, Eternals has the potential to be a major step forward.

And yet, it's receiving some slight pushback from Russia over this. According to Kino Metro, a Russian film site, Eternals has been rated 18+, which is the country's mature equivalent and considered to be "prohibited for children." For comparison's sake, per The Direct, most MCU films receive a 12+ (The Avengers, Ant-Man and the Wasp) or a 16+ (Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow) in Russia, making Eternals the first to go higher. The country has done this before over gay content in movies, as it gave Power Rangers an 18+ rating as well in 2017.

Whether this also means Russia will cut some of the scenes from Eternals that outwardly depict Phastos' sexuality remains to be seen, though there has been precedence for this in other countries. For example, the brief lesbian kiss in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was removed in countries like the United Arab Emirates back in 2019. Censorship like this or rating a movie higher simply because it includes LGBTQ content is disappointing, particularly since projects with heterosexual romances never get the same treatment.



https://screenrant.com/eternals-mcu-movie-rating-russia-phastos-gay/