The Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was recently discovered to have edits in one of its episodes, censoring the signs of violence out of certain shots. Although these changes turned out to have gone live on the platform in error, in the meantime, a pair of screenshots comparing before-and-after versions of a scene were widely shared — and the actor playing the brutally murdered character in the images noticed.
Olli Haaskivi, who played Dr. Nagel in the episode “The Power Broker,” posted a story to his Instagram showing the screenshots along with his hilarious commentary on them. In the original version, blood is spattered across the actor’s face and shirt and the floor, and his eyes are frozen open wide. In the altered screenshot, the blood is gone and his eyes are closed, although he’s still clearly meant to be dead. “Glad to know these gorgeous photos of me have had a lot of traction on the internet today…” Haaskivi wrote.
The edits to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were first pointed out by Marvel Cinematic Universe fans on Reddit, who noticed that scenes from “The Power Broker” had been scrubbed of blood and violence although other episodes with much gorier moments were left untouched. Before long, however, sources clarified that the changes had gone through due to a software control issue and that the original version would soon be restored to Disney+.
In the scene that features the “gorgeous photos” of Haaskivi, Dr. Nagel has just been shot dead by Baron Zemo, Daniel Brühl’s MCU villain who forges an uneasy alliance with the show’s titular heroes. A sequence in which Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) throws a pipe at an adversary was also altered, which actually causes a continuity error, as Bucky’s opponent is later shown pinned against the container by the pipe which had previously appeared to simply glance off of her.
Haaskivi added one further remark to his Instagram story, saying, “(yes I AM available for modeling gigs, don’t all DM me at once PLEASE).”
Disney and Marvel Studios have not provided an official explanation for the censoring slip-up, but fans have speculated that the updated parental control settings on Disney+ have prompted the streaming service to reassess its existing library, thereby avoiding concerns over younger viewers taking in mature content.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is currently streaming on Disney+.
Source: Instagram
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