Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker same-sex kiss scene cut from movie in Singapore to 'keep movie rating as PG13'

A scene in the latest Star Wars film which features two women kissing has been cut from the version of the film released in Singapore cinemas.

After a battle scene in The Rise of Skywalker, commander Larma D'Acy (Amanda Lawrence) is seen embracing a female pilot and kissing her.

The kiss is the first same-sex kiss in the history of the blockbuster franchise – despite the character not being the first gay character in the Star Wars universe.

A spokesperson from Singapore’s media regulatory has confirmed that the scene was cut – adding that it was due to the film’s rating classification.

They told the BBC: “The applicant has omitted a brief scene which under the film classification guidelines would require a higher rating.”

The film is currently rated as PG13 in Singapore, which functions in the same ways as a 12A rating in the UK.

Other films that have featured same-sex kisses – including Love Simon and Brokeback Mountain – have previously been rated as R21 in Singapore, which means nobody aged 20 or under can watch them in cinemas.

Director JJ Abrams previously said that he wanted to feature the kiss in the film so that people could see the franchise was "for everyone."

He told MovieZine: “It just felt like in this one scene of celebration, it felt like an opportunity to show [a same-sex kiss] without it being heavy-handed or making too loud of a deal.

"Sort of part of the whole experience was to see a same-sex couple have a moment together that was explicitly saying in this galaxy, everyone is there and is welcome. It doesn’t matter your sexual preference, your race, your species, whether you’re organic, whether you’re synthetic — Star Wars is for everyone."

It is not clear if the scene has also been cut in other countries by Disney, the company which owns Star Wars production house LucasFilms.

Standard Online has contacted Disney for comment.