‘Fantastic Beasts 3’: Warner Bros removes gay dialogue for Chinese audience

Warner Bros. has removed references to a gay dialogue from the third series of its movie ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ for the Chinese audience.

The media company cut out six seconds of the 142-minute project as demanded by Chinese authorities.

The edited portion of the film alludes to the romantic past between male characters Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen).

The controversial dialogue — “because I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love” — is against China’s law on same-sex marriage.

The company said “the spirit of the film remains intact” despite the adjustment.

It added that the project still retains its original concept establishing that Dumbledore and Grindelwald share an intimate bond.

Warner Bros. also said the adjustment was in line with its policy of responding “sensitively to a variety of in-market factors”.

“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,” the company said in a statement sent to Variety.

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

“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 our 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.”