In January, just ahead of the theatrical release of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” a leaked script found its way onto the Marvel Studios Spoilers subreddit. Now, legal action is underway to uncover the source of the leak. Last Friday, Marvel Studios affiliate filed DMCA subpoena applications, targeting Reddit and Google, aiming to unveil the leakers.
Interestingly, one user account is implicated among the moderator team of the subreddit. Court documents reveal the intention to compel Reddit to divulge information on all involved, potentially shedding light on the full extent of the leak and those responsible for it.
Reddit’s resistance to disclosing the identities of users engaged in piracy discussions may face further challenges with two new cases filed last Friday.
Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” marked the beginning of ‘Phase 5’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) on February 17, 2023. Despite lukewarm reviews, the film earned $105 million in its debut week but saw a significant drop to $32 million in the second week. However, prior to its release, a leak surfaced online, giving fans an early glimpse into the movie’s plot. Marvel’s efforts to track down the leakers are poised to become a narrative of their own.
MVL Film Finance LLC (MVL), established to finance Marvel Studios’ productions, filed a DMCA subpoena application targeting Google in the United States District for the Northern District of California. Marvel Studios’ declaration, submitted by Matthew Slatoff, Vice President of Global Security & Content Protection, outlined the discovery of unauthorized Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania content uploaded to Google’s systems on January 21. The takedown notice specified the infringement of the unreleased script and provided a URL to the location of the content, which had since been removed.
On January 23, Disney’s analyst received confirmation that while the takedown notice had been received by Google, the company wasn’t able to take any content down. Sometime during the previous couple of days the file had already been removed, leaving Google with nothing to do.
Despite its removal from the original location, the document could still be accessible elsewhere.
The document detailed in the DMCA subpoenas spans 63 pages. In an introduction penned by an unidentified individual, the script is attributed to screenwriter Jeff Loveness and described as “translated dialogue.”
Notably, the script was edited and/or displayed in a Portuguese web interface, with mentions of both Portugal and Brazil in the source. This ambiguity leaves room for speculation regarding the origin. Moreover, additional evidence suggests that the text may have been intended for use in subtitles. Of particular interest is a date reference found within the document.
The Reddit thread mentioned in the leaked document remains active, offering various spoilers without directly quoting from the leaked script.
Interestingly, the leaked document references this Reddit thread as being two months old at the time it was written or edited. Marvel’s DMCA subpoena applications target Google and Reddit users’ activities between January 15 and February 15, 2023.
The timing aligns with reports around January 20 indicating the leak of the entire movie plot. However, an older Reddit thread hints at an earlier plot leak around October 2022. While plot leaks have occurred before, nothing of this magnitude has been seen.
Marvel Studios, through MVL Film Finance LLC, is seeking information from Reddit to unveil the identities of the leakers. When the script/subtitle file was initially shared on Reddit in mid-January, Marvel fans were thrilled but soon faced copyright notices. A subreddit moderator warned of bans for any future sharing of the material.
The DMCA subpoena application specifically mentions the thread alongside an email from Reddit’s legal team, which had previously agreed to take the infringing content down.
In common with the takedown notice sent to Google, the allegedly infringing content may have been deleted before Reddit could remove it. There’s no mention of a copyright complaint, instead the post notes, “Sorry, this post was deleted by the person who originally posted it.”
At this point concern shifts to the rest of the thread, which talks about the document hosted by Google and how the mod team “took the google doc down” to ensure that existing links to the file would no longer lead to it.
On one hand that’s a positive response to a copyright complaint. On the other, it links the document to the Reddit thread. The original post listed in the DMCA subpoena did an even better job of that.
Marvel’s request for Reddit to disclose identifying information for the user ‘u/MSSmods’ introduces another layer of complexity to the situation.
The shared account ‘u/MSSmods’ was created in March 2021 and has been utilized by various moderators of the subreddit. However, Marvel’s request extends beyond this specific user to encompass the entire moderation team and subreddit community.
The subpoena seeks identifying information not only for the moderators but also for any users involved in posting or editing content related to “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” between January 15 and February 15, 2023.
It’s worth noting that no infringing content was posted directly on the Reddit thread; rather, it was hosted on Google with the thread providing a link. Nevertheless, Reddit may face pressure to investigate the involvement of individuals linked to the thread.
This development places Reddit in the midst of another contentious situation, with potential repercussions for both the platform and its users. As one Reddit user aptly remarked, the subreddit’s moderators may find themselves in a precarious position given Marvel’s pursuit of the leakers.
