A film executive has revealed that 2021 Marvel movie Spider-man: No Way Home wasn’t released in China because their film board did not want The Statue of Liberty in the film.
Tom Holland’s third solo outing as the web-slinger saw him team up with past Spider-man actors Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire in a multiverse battle that remains the most successful MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) film since 2019’s Avengers Endgame. However, in a new interview, the head of the studio that produces the Spider-man films reveals he felt it should have made more.
Sony Pictures chairman and CEO Tom Rothman spoke to Matt Belloni on The Town podcast about the success of No Way Home, with Belloni remarking the film made $2billion (£1.48billion) globally. Rothman corrected him, saying it made $1.9billion (£1.40billion), and explained why it “pisses me off to have to say this.”
“You say, ‘$1.9 billion, what’s wrong with [rounding up to] two?’” he continued. “Well, it didn’t get into China, but in my mind [the film’s box office is] over two [billion] because I know what we would have done in China.”
The sticking point for China’s film administration was the usage of The Statue of Liberty in the movie. The film’s climactic fight takes place entirely on the monument. “[The China Film Administration] just said, ‘Small thing, no problem, just cut out the Statue of Liberty’ — which is where the climax is. That was their request.”
Rothman declined, citing logical reasons, as the film wouldn’t have made sense with the final fight cut. “Also, I really didn’t look forward to sitting in front of Congress telling them why I cut the Statue of Liberty out at the request of the Chinese Communist Party,” he added.
He also revealed that the Spider-man universe of films, which included Venom and Madame Web, will be rebooted with “new people”. “Scarcity has value” he said of the decision to wait for those new films. “You got to make the audience miss you.”
In other news, last year it was reported that Tom Holland could not pursue the role of James Bond, due to his Marvel contract preventing him from playing other significant movie heroes.