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As war wages worldwide, we, in America, live in a secure Disney bubble, oblivious to when humankind and all of its terrible attributes clash with the mega-sized entertainment company.
Often, we don’t realize that the “bubble” we consider to be a shield from the real world is infiltrated by external forces, creating plenty of backlash, a boycott or two, and detriments over political positions, humanitarian issues, and much more.
Boycotts opposing Disney are nothing new. In recent history, plenty of outspoken organizations, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, and high-profile names like Elon Musk, have opposed the House of Mouse. However, a recent influx of outcries runs deeper than bad blood, as it comes from supporters currently under the stress and strain of actual war.
No matter where you stand in the geo-political happenings of the globe that we call Earth, one thing we can all agree upon is that war is an unwanted means to an end. It’s a terrible side effect of being human and dealing with corruption and evil in the world.
Although war has never had a direct impact on Disney World, its influence has been part of the storied history of The Walt Disney Company, with the globe’s latest conflicts leading to social media grumblings and pleas to boycott Disney.
Unlike society’s issues with Bud Light, Toby Keith, or any other controversial popular culture figure, the current conflict between Israel and Palestine, although being fought thousands of miles away from Disney, is slowly creeping up to the doorstep, this time with Marvel, more specifically the MCU, in its sights.
New trends suggest that many pro-Palestinian supporters are calling others to boycott Disney in an effort to force the company to remove a popular Marvel character from their next big-time MCU film, Captain America: New World Order (2024).
The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios have remained quiet so far regarding the vast amount of support the call for boycott is gaining among Palestinian supporters, but the internet is making itself heard loud and clear, as pointed out by Screen Geek.
Hollywood has become quite divided over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This division has reached social media, where users on platforms such as X, formerly known as Twitter, have started to call out actors that they consider “Zionists.”
This includes Israel-born actress Shira Haas, who was announced to be playing Sabra in Captain America: Brave New World. Sabra is a superhero known for working with the Mossad, aka Israeli Secret Service, with many of her outfits sporting the colors of the Israeli flag as a result.
For those unaware, a “Zionist” or also known as the Jewish nationalist movement, according to Britannica, refers to someone whose goal is to “create and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews.”
Ultimately, the Marvel character Sabra, played by Israeli-born Shira Haas, is set to make its debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the fourth installment of the Captain America franchise.
Due to the supportive Israeli background of the character, and most likely America’s support of Israel, which is currently involved in a nasty conflict with Palestine that has seen a heavy death toll of military personnel and civilians, pro-Palestine supporters want the character pulled from the next film.
https://twitter.com/Greenfield_Vet/status/1746970080884211972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1746970080884211972%7Ctwgr%5E7ecf8da3aa6efcb84b860956b537cf4c8571094f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2024%2F02%2F08%2Fmarvel-fans-mcu-movie-boycott%2F
https://twitter.com/GregoryRasputin/status/1745507403229958387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1745507403229958387%7Ctwgr%5E03c3920092f58a9039db58afa5050ae2139fd134%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2024%2F02%2F08%2Fmarvel-fans-mcu-movie-boycott%2F
https://twitter.com/beastboylawson/status/1753973744677064770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1753973744677064770%7Ctwgr%5E03c3920092f58a9039db58afa5050ae2139fd134%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.screengeek.net%2F2024%2F02%2F08%2Fmarvel-fans-mcu-movie-boycott%2F
Although the popular comic characters aren’t written in stone, according to some on X, the MCU and Disney are purposely ignoring their calls to remove the “Zionist” from their screenplay.
There has been no talk of reshoots or rewriting, as New World Order has already been previously delayed, but given Disney’s propensity to keep its pulse on cultures around the world, it would make sense for them to mulligan when it comes to Sabra.
Certainly, we can rest assured that despite what happens with the film, there will be no meet and greet at Disney World or any other Disney Park for that matter. If Sabra survives the onslaught of social media determent, Disney will most likely keep the character as quiet as possible.
As the Disney boycott continues to gain steam amidst atrocities committed in the Israel-Palestine War in the West Bank, The Walt Disney Company will likely find itself under more intense pressure to make creative changes to the film.
It’s up to screenwriters, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, and Bob Iger on which direction they’ll take moving forward. Certainly, despite where they stand in opposition and support, Disney and Marvel both want to remain neutral parties when it comes to unintentionally promoting a warring faction.
Captain America: New World Order is currently scheduled for release in February of 2025.
