A Thor Poster Hijacked at a Shanghai Cinema
A Shanghai cinema recently made headlines by displaying a reimagined poster for the film "Thor: The Dark World".
A Shanghai cinema recently made headlines by displaying a reimagined poster for the film "Thor: The Dark World". This unusual poster went viral across all Chinese social media platforms, sparking outrage in some quarters and amusement in others. The major Shanghai cinema Bona Insun International Cineplex apparently decided to bypass the marketing materials provided by Marvel Studios and promote the film their own way, featuring a poster created by a gay fan community. These fans had imagined a romantic storyline between the two heroes Thor and Loki. The Photoshopped poster shows the main character Thor (Chris Hemsworth) embracing his adoptive brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in place of the beautiful Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).
Real or Fake Poster
The story first broke on the Chinese social network Weibo. As you might imagine, the poster quickly went viral in Chine and abroad. Online reactions proved diverse and varied. Some on social media expressed outrage at the poster's homosexual undertones and made numerous suggestive references to Ang Lee's film "Brokeback Mountain", which featured a love story between two men. But the vast majority of people found humor in this blunder and commented on the poster with wit. One netizen reportedly declared: "A Shanghai cinema accidentally used a fan-created poster, but it actually makes me even more eager to see the film". One might say this lack of judgment ultimately proved beneficial for the film's box office. The cinema did issue an apology on its Weibo account, stating that the poster had been removed and replaced. All's well that ends well.
Frequently asked questions
It was the Bona Insun International Cineplex, a major Shanghai cinema, which accidentally displayed a fan-made poster featuring Thor and Loki instead of Thor and Jane Foster, around the release of "Thor: The Dark World" in November 2013.
The poster went viral because it came from a fan community that imagined a romantic relationship between Thor and Loki. Its accidental display in an official cinema sparked viral reactions on the Chinese social network Weibo, ranging from outrage to amusement.
The cinema issued a public apology on its Weibo account, stating that the reimagined poster had been removed and replaced with the official visuals provided by Marvel Studios.
'Shipping' refers to imagining a romantic relationship between two fictional characters. Thor and Loki, adoptive brothers in the Marvel films, are the subject of popular 'shipping' in certain fan communities, particularly in Chine, where fans have created numerous illustrations and stories about them.
