The Eternals Got An 18+ Rating in Russia for Featuring Gay Superhero

According to Putin, The Eternals is way too gay.

While the film got a PG-13 rating in America, the upcoming MCU blockbuster was given a rating of 18+ in Russia, meaning it is "prohibited for children." The Eternals will be the first Marvel movie to have that rating in the country, and the only reason we can guess why is that it includes the MCU's first gay superhero, Phastos, as played by Brian Tyree Henry.

Marvel movies in Russia usually have a 12+ rating (films like The Avengers) or a 16+ for heavier fare (Avengers: Endgame for example), so Eternals is the first movie to be labeled for adults only.

If the higher rating is because of "homosexual content," (and it probably is), this wouldn't be the first time the country has done something similar. In 2017 the kid-friendly Power Rangers reboot was given an 18+ rating because it made the yellow ranger, Trini, gay in the film.

In Power Rangers, Trini doesn't have a girlfriend or kiss anyone, but in a scene where the rangers are bonding, she insinuates to her friends that she is gay.

Russia currently has a law on the books banning "homosexual propaganda" aimed at minors. President Vladimir Putin also enacted a series of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, including banning marriage equality and transgender adoptions and centering "belief in God" as a core value of the country.

Unfortunately, the "gay propaganda" laws are extremely vague, and have been used to ban everything from shirtless men, to pictures of K-Pop artists in the country.

In the US, the film only got a PG-13 rating, for things including "brief sexuality." Given the MCU's treatment of queer characters, it's not very likely that Phastos and his husband will be the ones briefly getting it on. Still, just them being husbands is enough to get an 18+ rating in Russia.

The Eternals opens in theaters on November 5.

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