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<\/p>\nThe blockbuster “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has fallen foul of censors in both Russia and Ukraine, according to reports, due to a song in the film by a Russian singer who has condemned Moscow’s full-scale invasion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 2024 song “Monopoly” by Elizaveta Gyrdymova, better known by her stage name Monetochka, was included the soundtrack of the latest version of the Marvel franchise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is heard in a scene where the character Peter Parker is at the New Avengers headquarters in Brighton Beach and meets Yelena Belova, portrayed by Florence Pugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Monetochka left Russia after being designated a foreign agent by the Russian Justice Ministry over her criticism of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Her outspoken anti-war position has included her raising money for Ukrainian refugees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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This image from August 3, 2025 shows Tom Holland on the set of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ in Glasgow, Scotland.<\/p>\n
Ukraine Removes Song, So Does Russia<\/p>\n
Despite her anti-war stance, the Ukrainian theatrical release of the film which premiered in Kyiv on July 29 was followed by social media reaction opposing the appearance of any Russian song.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The country’s Planeta Kino theater chain said<\/a> that the song had been completely removed from the Ukrainian version of the film, according to independent outlet Meduza which noted <\/a>that its distributor\u00a0B&H Film Distribution did not explain the removal.\u00a0But the Russian version of the film has followed suit, apparently due to Monetochka’s status as a Kremlin critic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Like most major Western releases, the film has no official distribution in Russia after Sony Pictures suspended operations due to the war. \u00a0<\/p>\n But Russian theaters are showing unofficial copies of the film, where\u00a0Monetochka’s song\u00a0“Monopoly”\u00a0was removed and replaced with an instrumental track and her name cut from the credits, according to\u00a0the publication<\/a> “Caution, news.”<\/p>\n Film critic Tamara Khodova, who attended an advance screening,\u00a0revealed<\/a>\u00a0how happy she was to see the song in the film and that the director Destin Daniel Cretton said he was<\/a> pleased with the reaction to the song.\u00a0<\/p>\n A criminal case was opened against Monetochka in Russia In September 2024 for “evading the duties of a foreign agent” and she is living in exile in Lithuania, according to reports. A Russian judge this year sentenced her in absentia to one year in prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n Russia-based journalist Bryan McDonald noted<\/a> on X how Monetochka “finds herself in the bizarre position of being censored from both the Russian and Ukrainian versions of the new Spider-Man film.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “For Russia she is insufficiently loyal, but for Ukraine she remains excessively Russian,” he posted. Newsweek has contacted Sony Pictures for comment.<\/p>\n Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.<\/a><\/p>\n