Disney+ Responds to Censorship Controversy With Marvel Show

Marvel Studios is getting ready to dive into slightly more adult content than what it’s been known for in the past, which is starting various conversations amongst fans as the MCU evolves. As the franchise moves to darker material like the recently released Moon Knight, on top of the recent addition of six Marvel Netflix shows, there are signs pointing to Marvel Studios embracing a more adult nature.

It seems inevitable that this will be the case even outside of necessary adult themes in projects like Deadpool 3, even though the PG-13 rated entries will also move in that direction. As Disney slowly makes these changes to its streaming service, however, fans are worried that this will lead to a more toned-down MCU than fans have seen even in Phase 4 with censorship adjustments.

On Tuesday, March 29, fans noticed that "Episode 3" of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was altered on Disney+ to appear less violent, specifically with Doctor Nagel's less bloody death and the scene where a Madripoor bounty hunter was stabbed with a pipe. This ignited controversy on social media among fans, who were concerned that censored edits could take away from the show's original intentions.

Now, following that shocking sight on the streaming service, it appears that Disney has noticed the issue and may be on its way to fixing it.

Disney+ Addresses Falcon/Winter Soldier Hiccup

Marvel

The Hollywood Reporter senior staff writer Ryan Parker took to Twitter to provide an update on the recent change to "Episode 3" of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+.

Disney+ told Parker that this censored edit was accidentally caused by a "software control issue" on the Disney+ service and that it will be fixed in the immediate future:

"Eagle-eyed fans were right, an episode of  'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' had been altered on Disney+.I hear from a reliable source it was a software control issue and the wrong file was recently published accidentally. It’s being corrected immediately."

The Hollywood Reporter's Aaron Couch backed up this report, sharing that the original, uncensored version of the episode will be back on Disney+ soon.

What This Means for Disney+ Censorship

While fans are still waiting for the original version of these scenes to come back to Disney+, this sets up an interesting conundrum for how Disney will allow its streaming subscribers to control their content.

On the one hand, the positive from this news is that Disney and Marvel won't fully censor more violent material for good, which worried fans as the recent changes to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier went live. But this does hint that the company will give viewers the option to have more flexibility with the newly introduced parental control restrictions.

It seems that there may be two different versions of projects like those from the MCU that stream on Disney+ - one with less violence and adult content and one that's shown as it was originally intended. It remains to be seen how viewers will be able to switch back and forth between these options, but considering what was seen in the last few days, Disney is looking to see if it works. 

In the end, the issue behind the censorship of Marvel's Disney+ shows appears to have been rectified according to these reports. When they go back to normal on the streaming service is a mystery, but fans will keep their eye out for how the viewing experience changes in the coming years.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is available to stream on Disney+.