Marvel Studios wants Google and Reddit to identity the person who published a leaked script for its latest movie, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” prior to the film’s release.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, a federal court in California granted the Disney-owned
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Marvel’s request to subpoena Google and Reddit for additional information about who was behind the leak, which infringed on the company’s copyrights, Marvel said.
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and Reddit must provide the users’ names, addresses and phone numbers to Marvel’s attorneys by next week, the report said.
A Reddit user posted the “Ant-Man” script on the platform in January, revealing the movie’s plot before its February release. Reddit removed at least one post that contained the script, according to the report.
Marvel alleged in court documents that the person who leaked the script had stored it in a Google Docs file because it was too long to be posted on Reddit in its entirety.
A Reddit spokesperson said the company is “committed to protecting our users’ privacy” and has “rigorous processes in place to assess legal requests and object when appropriate.”
Marvel Studios and Google didn’t immediately respond to MarketWatch’s requests for comment on this story.
The latest “Ant-Man” film debuted with a strong $120 million opening at the box office over a four-day Presidents Day weekend but struggled to gain traction in the following weeks after mixed reviews, something atypical for Marvel Studios films over the years.
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About a month after the film’s release, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said at a Morgan Stanley conference in San Francisco that while there is nothing wrong with Marvel’s brands, the studio may look to be more selective about projects in the future.
“Sequels typically worked well for us,” Iger said, but added: “Do you need a third and a fourth, for instance? Or is it time to turn to other characters?”
