Marvel Studios has begun its hunt to track down the perpetrators who leaked the entire script of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania online before the film’s theatrical release.
Variety reported that someone on behalf of Marvel filed a request in the federal district court in California last Friday, for the social media site, Reddit, to identify the user responsible for the leak that was shared on the r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers subreddit on Jan 20, 2023, a month before the film’s official release.
“Marvel requested “all Identifying Information for the user ‘u/MSSmods’ as well as that of “any other user(s) responsible for posting, editing, and/or maintaining the content” that was available on the subreddit (but is no longer) for the period from Jan. 15-Feb. 15.”
Marvel Studios has also filed a DMCA subpoena against Google after it was alleged that the script was also shared via Google Docs. According to Variety, neither Google nor Reddit have commented on Marvel’s DMCA requests. However, a spokesperson for Reddit said that the company is “committed to protecting the user’s privacy” and has the right to object “when appropriate.”
“Reddit is committed to protecting our users’ privacy. We have rigorous processes in place to assess legal requests and object when appropriate,”
Due to these recent events, the r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers subreddit has gone private, meaning only existing members and subreddit mods can access the page. A statement was released by Reddit user u/MSSmods, which was retrieved on the r/SubredditDrama page, which shared a short story on how the subreddit started and how it was planning to close due to Disney being aware of its existence. The user also offered the subreddit to someone who wants to manage the page, as well as deal with the legal ramifications that come with it.
“This subreddit was created by me because I hated going to the Marvel Studios subreddit. I wanted to know about the stuff that was coming up, leaks, spoilers, etc…but they had such a strong policy that you couldn’t talk about anything without it being removed, banned, or messaged. (That was back then, I have no idea if it is like that now.) This subreddit started very small…I ran it alone, then I added some mods, then those mods left or lost their minds…It was along time ago (to me) and I actually do not remember all the details anymore.
“Eventually, I was able to get some reliable/responsible help for a page that was never meant to be a serious thing. It grew and grew…now it has grown so large that people from the MCU know of it. Sadly, this means Disney also knows of it. The Mouse always wins…a lesson I learned from South Park. This subreddit will probably be taken down soon, as I am sure a lot of you have seen the news/articles/etc. Ain’t nobody got time for that…and so there will no longer be any mods, the subreddit will operate on its own essentially.
“If someone wants to step up and takeover the subreddit…including all the legal ramifications (potentially), message this account.”
It was alleged that the Ant-Man 3 script leak may have been the cause of the film’s poor performance. The film received an average score of 47 percent from critics and 83 percent from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the worst-reviewed Marvel film on Rotten Tomatoes since Eternals. It was also revealed that Ant-Man 3 has a record-low box office return, only grossing over $106 million during its domestic opening and over $448 million worldwide so far.
If you were unable to read the script, but want to know what happens in the film, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is still showing in theaters.