Warner Bros. has revealed that specific dialogues from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore have been edited to appease the Chinese government.
The fantasy film, which was released in China last weekend, made no mention of two of the threequel’s main characters having a same-sex relationship. The Chinese censors sought a cut, which Warner Bros agreed to conform with local standards. The studio spokesperson added that the spirit of the film remains intact.
For the first time in the Harry Potter franchise, the phrases “I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love” formally establish that the beloved Hogwarts professor is gay and had a romantic relationship with the dark wizard.
The film’s 142-minute runtime got reduced by only six seconds. The omitted dialogue alluded to a love relationship between Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindelwald (Eddie Redmayne) (Mads Mikkelsen). The author of “Harry Potter,” J.K. Rowling, revealed Dumbledore’s sexuality in 2009, but the films had never explicitly addressed the character’s sexuality until this third instalment of “Fantastic Beasts.”
It’s not the first time China has expressed opposition to the topic. The market as a whole does not tolerate on-screen references to homosexuality.
