Disney+ Has Bizarrely Censored One of Their Biggest Marvel Shows

Disney is turning heads for apparently deciding to censor one of its biggest Marvel shows on the Disney+ platform. The streaming service was first released with a library full of typical family-friendly content. However, recently, with the addition of extra parental controls, the platform added some of its more mature audience content. But for some reason, the decision was also made to censor some scenes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Here’s what we know.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has branched from theatrical movies and expanded the storylines through original TV shows. One of the first, and the biggest, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, continues the story of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson. It’s rated TV-14, according to IMDb, so parents should know the warning means the show may include violence – but nothing over the top to make it TV-MA.

So why did Disney censor some scenes that fall into that violence but are not too violent in The Falcon and Winter Soldier?

A Redditor noticed some scenes have been edited or censored, according to The Direct. The eagle-eyed Marvel fan took some liberties to make the content more family-friendly by “switching out a couple of bloody scenes.”

The Direct explains, “the first of these comes from the death of Hydra scientist Wilfred Nagel in Episode 3 of the series.” In detail, the scene, “Where there was once blood painted on Nagel’s face and shirt, there is now nothing. Also, instead of Nagel’s eyes remaining open, confirming his death, they are now closed.”

Another scene that was edited censored out a scene with a bounty hunter who was injured in the shoulder by a pipe. Originally the pipe, thrown by Bucky, pierces the bounty hunter’s shoulder. But now, the pipe goes right by, hitting the door instead.

The scenes are violent, sure, and could be a grey area for parents who may err on the side of caution. But they’re not gratuitous. And the show has been on Disney+ for close to a year already, which is why people are confused – why were these changed now?

The changes were made quietly, without comment from Disney, so there’s no real answer on why these were censored. And there’s no telling if more changes are to come.

It’s also worth noting that none of the streaming Marvel Disney+ shows (or the Star Wars ones) have ever been released on home media. In other words, there are no Blu-rays of Falcon and Winter Soldier or WandaVision. Meaning, whatever versions of these shows that exist online are the only versions we’ll ever really see.