Warner Bros. censors gay relationship dialogue in ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ for China release

Warner Bros. has accepted China’s request to remove dialogue that alludes to a gay relationship in the upcoming film “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.”

The six seconds of dialogue, which references the romantic past between the male characters Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, was removed from the film’s total runtime of 142 minutes. The lines “because I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love” were edited out upon China’s request.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is the third installment in the “Fantastic Beasts” series. It follows the story of Dumbledore as he attempts to stop antagonist Grindelwald from taking over the wizarding world.

Although the dialogue lines were excluded from the film’s release in China, Warner Bros. claimed that “the spirit of the film remains intact.”

“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,” Warner Bros. said in a statement. “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.”

Author J.K. Rowling revealed at a 2007 fan event for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” that Dumbledore identifies as gay. The character’s sexual orientation was not referenced in previous “Fantastic Beast” installments but has been revealed for the first time in the newest film.

The film was released in China on April 8 and topped the box office, earning $9.7 million in the first three days. The U.S. is expected to release the film in theaters on April 15.

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