The Antman 3 Leak

There is enough buzz about this that I felt I should say something about it.

Here are the facts. About a month before Antman and the Wasp: Quantomania was released there was a script leak for it on Reddit.

The script in question was a subtitle script. The thing the studio sends to foreign distributors so they can insert the subtitles in their country’s language.

The language in question was Portuguese, which all but guarantees that the leaker is from Brazil. There is much bigger comic book scene there than there is in Lisbon.

Disney is now demanding that Reddit and Google cough up the individual’s name so they can sue him into non-existence.

Those are the facts. The next part is purely speculation and opinions on my part.

This is a stupid idea. It looks bad and it’s silly. No, Google and Reddit won’t open themselves up to that kind of lawsuit just because Disney is demanding it. Scream VI had a script leak and Paramount isn’t threatening anybody. Of course, Scream VI is doing well, so nobody at that studio cares. Antman 3, on the other hand, is a very large and unmistakable bomb for Disney.

So, why is Disney doing this?

There are two possibilities: One, as the old saying goes if you don’t protect your IP, you lose your IP. This could just be a mechanical reaction by Disney legal. It’s possible.

Two, given how pointless it is to try and force this particular issue with Reddit and Google, it sounds like a personal problem. Somebody very senior at Marvel is mad about this. The Marvel minions are actually trying to spin this as the reason that Antman 3 died at the box office. Yeah, no. I remember when Return of the Jedi came out in 1983, the distributor for the novel adaptation screwed up and shipped a week early giving away everything. It was still a big hit. If you look at most any trailer from the 1980s, they gave away the entire plot of the movie. Their attitude was, yeah we just told you everything and we know our movie is so fucking good you are still going to come see it repeatedly.

Bob Iger has to be mad about Antman’s failure, the box office collapse came when least he needed it. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will probably do well but it’s the last GOG film before James Gunn takes off for Krypton. After that comes The Marvels, which will crash and burn, everybody knows it. Then comes Captain America New World Order, starring the new Captain America that no one asked for. Next, it will be The Thunderbolts turn to bomb, this one is starring all of the B-list replacement heroes that crashed and burned on Disney+. There are some planned movies that aren’t in production yet.

However, past certain point there is going to be a shareholder revolt. Nelson Peltz still owns better than a billion in Disney stock, and if the trajectory of something doesn’t switch to upward soon, he’s getting on the board of directors. Bob Iger is going into retirement as scheduled at that point.

Consequently, there will have to be senior management changes at Marvel, probably by the end of the year. This makes the senior management very, very edgy. Feige by all accounts is non-confrontational, whereas Victoria Alonso is allegedly a “chair-thrower.”

Of the two I know which personality type is likely to indulge in a public tantrum.

And now you do too.