‘The Dark Knight’ screening canceled in Hong Kong after the government raises violence concerns

As one of the finest comic book adaptations of all-time, one of the 21st Century’s greatest blockbusters regardless of genre, and perhaps one of the single best motion pictures to come along since the turn of the millennium depending on who you ask, audiences are never going to get tired of Christopher Nolan’s seminal The Dark Knight.

It may have been 14 years since the middle chapter in the acclaimed Batman trilogy hit theaters, but fans are more than happy to continue praising it from the rooftops, with everything from Heath Ledger’s legendary Joker to the influence it ended up exerting over big budget Hollywood filmmaking keeping it at the forefront of the cultural conversation.

However, crowds in Hong Kong won’t get the chance to see The Dark Knight screened outdoors for their enjoyment, after a planned showing was reportedly canceled by on the government’s orders due to concerns over violence. As per Bloomberg, a notice for the intended Oct. 27 event relayed that the DC epic was no longer on the cards due “based on direction from the HK Government Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration.”

Part of The Dark Knight was even filmed in Hong Kong, although it wasn’t approved for a release in mainland China. While the official party line is that the violence in the PG-13 caper is “not appropriate” for an outdoor screening, we can’t overlooked the fact that American-backed productions haven’t exactly been flavor of the month in China and its various allies for a long time, so there may well be more to the story.