SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME - Chinese Regulators Had A Ridiculous Request Of The Film's Third Act

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME - Chinese Regulators Had A Ridiculous Request Of The Film's Third Act

In December, there was much debate on whether Spider-Man: No Way Home would be granted a then-coveted China release. It didn't happen, and we now have details on what transpired between Sony and China.

By RohanPatel - May 02, 2022 09:05 AM EST
Filed Under: No Way Home
Source: Puck

While Spider-Man: No Way Home once seemed like a safer bet than Venom: Let There Be Carnage and the Disney-backed Black WidowShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals to receive a China release date, it ultimately wasn't granted approval, and we now have more information on what transpired between the country and Sony Pictures.

According to the former editor of The Hollywood Reporter and Puck founder Matthew Belloni, Chinese regulators made a ridiculous request to Sony after viewing the Jon Watts-directed film for the first time in late 2021: "Delete the Statue of Liberty from the ending of the film."

As everyone who's seen No Way Home knows, the film's entire third act featuring all three Spider-Men (Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield) takes place on and around the renovated Statue of Liberty, meaning removing the iconic American landmark from the film was simply not possible, which is why Sony bosses Tom Rothman and Tony Vinciquerra immediately gave them an emphatic no. 

In an effort to reach some sort of compromise, China came back to them with a slightly less severe, but equally as outrageous request: minimize the sequence by cutting a "few of the more patriotic shots of Holland standing atop the crown, or dull the lighting so that Lady Liberty’s visage wasn’t so front-and-center."

Sony reportedly discussed this second ask, which suggests it could potentially have been done if push came to shove, but Rothman and Vinciquerra still quickly chose to pass even when they knew it meant a Chinese release would 100% be off the table. Their final decision was made easier by the fact that the regulators would still not guarantee the film would be granted a release even with the proposed changes.

Their gambit paid off, since even without China, No Way Home was still a worldwide phenomenon, grossing nearly $1.9 billion globally and counting, and swinging all the way to becoming the sixth-highest grossing film of all time. The added box office boost from China, where its predecessors brought in $116 million and $200 million, respectively, would certainly have been welcomed by the studio, but it was obviously not worth destroying the film's epic climax, or the global media firestorm that would've followed had Sony acquiesced to their insane demands. 

What this means for the future of comic book movies in China remains to be seen, but it doesn't seem like Marvel will be returning any time in the near future since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be the sixth consecutive Marvel release to not be granted a release in the Middle Kingdom. What happens with Thor: Love and Thunder remains to be seen, but we expect the Taika Waititi-directed sequel to face a similar fate. 

Tom Holland headlines the billion-dollar blockbuster with a supporting cast consisting of Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson, Angourie Rice as Betty Brant, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson, Martin Starr as Mr. Harrington, J.B. Smoove as Mr. Dell, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Benedict Wong as Master Wong, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange.

Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin), Alfred Molina (Doctor Octopus), Jamie Foxx (Electro), Thomas Haden Church (Sandman), Rhys Ifans (Lizard), and Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock) reprise their roles from the previous Spider-Man films and the Daredevil TV series, respectively.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is now available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and Digital HD! 

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IcePyke
IcePyke - 5/2/2022, 9:04 AM
What the hell, China?

TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 5/2/2022, 9:05 AM
Statue of LIBERTY: *exists*
The CCP:

GhostDog
GhostDog - 5/2/2022, 9:05 AM
China:
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 5/2/2022, 9:07 AM
What in the Chinese totalitarianism is this. I'm glad that they didn't give in to these demands *america the beautiful intensifies* I hope more studios don't give in to some of these ridiculous demands like cmon nobody will care that they saw the Statue

Could it be china is an AHole and 100% a dick?
Fogs
Fogs - 5/2/2022, 9:07 AM
China never disappoints, huh?
JonAwesome
JonAwesome - 5/2/2022, 9:41 AM
@Fogs - I mean they did give us such blockbuster hits such as The Corona Virus! That really took the theaters by storm!
KingLeonidas
KingLeonidas - 5/2/2022, 9:09 AM
Shame on the Chinese regulators. These are absolutely outrageous demands.
santoanderson
santoanderson - 5/2/2022, 9:10 AM
Ugh. What a bunch of entitled assholes.
minato808
minato808 - 5/2/2022, 9:17 AM
What does China do about the digital and blu ray releases of these movies? Is the only way for their people to watch these movies to watch it pirated?
Spidey91
Spidey91 - 5/2/2022, 9:19 AM
The chinese government is absolutely off the rocker at this point.
Moriakum
Moriakum - 5/2/2022, 9:19 AM
[frick] China. That´s all.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 5/2/2022, 9:20 AM
"but it was obviously not worth destroying the film's epic climax, nor was it worth the global media firestorm that would've followed, had Sony acquiesced to their insane demands."

Why wouldn't it have been worth it for 200 million? The other versions of the film would've been unchanged and nobody would throw a fit that they took the statue of liberty out.
HAILHYDRA
HAILHYDRA - 5/2/2022, 9:25 AM
I mean I get it. It’s called the Statue of Liberty. The Chinese government wouldn’t want their citizens getting any crazy ideas about freedom and what not.
Spidey91
Spidey91 - 5/2/2022, 9:59 AM
@HAILHYDRA - funny you say that but just somewhat recently they finished in Shanghai the construction of the first real scale Gundam statue to be built outside of Japan...the name of said Gundam is "Freedom". oh the irony.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 5/2/2022, 9:28 AM
I feel so bad for those citizens, ain’t their fault.
WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 5/2/2022, 9:29 AM
So happy Marvel has burned that bridge, took them long enough.
Twenty23Three
Twenty23Three - 5/2/2022, 9:33 AM
Insane request but let’s be honest; Marvel definitely made a couple of phone calls to see if it could be changed to a shopping mall or something in post haha
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 5/2/2022, 9:39 AM
What losers.
Supercat6376
Supercat6376 - 5/2/2022, 9:42 AM
No one is willing to to handle China. The only politician who was willing to layeth the smack down on them is this sites version of he who mustn’t be named.
SerKurtWagner
SerKurtWagner - 5/2/2022, 10:06 AM
@Supercat6376 - Oh, you mean the dude whose whole family manufactures everything they sell in China? Yeah, he was REAL tough on 'em...
Dotanuki
Dotanuki - 5/2/2022, 9:46 AM
Hopefully Hollywood stops relying on Chinese money going forward. I can do without inane Chinese characters getting shoehorned into movies.
Fogs
Fogs - 5/2/2022, 9:55 AM
@Dotanuki - the problem is the "shoehorned" part, indeed.
Dotanuki
Dotanuki - 5/2/2022, 10:08 AM
@Fogs - I can’t tell if you are being facetious so I’ll assume that you are. Hollywood can’t do anything to change the political situation in China. That’s a much bigger issue than movies and Hollywood entertainment. What they can do is resist Chinese funding that requires them to include PRC propaganda. It’s obvious when a production gets significant funding bc they’ll include a character that seems wholly out of place. I’m thinking of Moonfall specifically. But again, I’m bitching about a small problem vs. the reality of Chinese people who have to live under the control of an oppressive regime.
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