Warner Bros. backed Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets Of Dumbledore released in China theatres on April 8, ahead of its domestic release on April 15. Fantastic Beasts is the third film from the studio this year that released in China following The Matrix Resurrections which opened in January and The Batman which released on March 18. Now, new developments suggest that the gay reference in the film has been removed on request by China officials.

Six seconds from the film which indicated a romantic past between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, were cut. In the Chinese version, a dialogue between Jude Law’s titular character and Grindelwald, played by Mads Mikkelsen, that contained the lines “because I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love”, was removed. The rest of the film is the same, including an understanding that the characters have an intimate bond.

Warner Bros. told Variety, “We are committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release” which means “sensitively” producing “nuanced cuts” for certain markets. “Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets,” they added.

They further added, “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 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.”

The Harry Potter spin-off is directed by David Yates and stars Jude Law, Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston and Mads Mikkelsen in key roles. The first movie, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them grossed $86M in 2016, followed by 2018 released Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald which raked in $57.3M at the box office. The third film received an average response at the BO.