Some minor spoilers for Aquaman can be found within this story, if you haven't caught the behemoth flick yet.
At the end of Aquaman, the pent up sexual tension between Arthur Curry and Mera explodes into a kiss during the final battle scene. However, if you live in certain parts of the world, you may have noticed some odd editing during that sequence. Reportedly, in countries like Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, the big kiss between the two characters has totally been censored.
Following some Internet comments, Rerelease News has revealed that in Indonesia the cut of Aquaman is only 142 minutes, instead of the 143-minute runtime other countries are seeing. The country has an all ages SU rating, along with 13+, 17+ and 21+. It's possible the unmarried kiss between Mera and Arthur Curry helped the move to secure a lower-in-age rating.
In addition, Saudi Arabia is mentioned to have also cut the big kiss between the heroic trident-fighter and his redheaded, flower-eating counterpart.
The move might seem especially strange, given that some people online are noting other kisses remain intact in the movie, including notable land-locked lips, like the big smooch between Atlanna and Tom Curry.
After squabbling quite a bit (and even like siblings) in Justice League, Arthur Curry and Mera go on a quest in Aquaman to find a special trident. Along the way, they spend a romantic and then action-packed day in Italy and also get into a ton of other shenanigans in the desert. Eventually, their shared passion for keeping Atlantis on the right side of the line translates into a passionate kiss.
Also, I think Mera was probably just really into Arthur Curry retrieving the trident and gaining that classic comic book costume.
All in all, losing the kiss between Mera and Arthur Curry probably doesn't change a lot about the movie, although Mera actually loses quite a bit in the process of choosing Arthur over Orm. After all, she was set to be queen, and after defying Orm and choosing Arthur, she is put on a very different path. Without the kiss between Mera and Aquaman, her future is left as a whole lot more uncertain on the big screen.
You can catch Aquaman in theaters--and hopefully it will be fully intact--right now. To see what else is coming up in 2019, take a look at our full movie release schedule. Finally, see what all DC and Warner Bros. have in the works with our full guide.
