A 26-year-old suspect has been arrested for leaking Paramount+’s The Legend Of Aang: The Last Airbender.
This confirmation came from sources after Singapore’s Straight Time newspaper reported the news.
Paramount+ is investigating an online leak of a new movie, and a person familiar with the matter said the leak did not come from within the studio.
Local police in Singapore issued a statement saying they had seized electronic devices containing digital copies of unreleased movies. According to the report, the man was able to gain unauthorized remote access to a media server, download movies from there, and then distribute them online.
Under local law, unauthorized access to computer materials can be punishable by up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000.
This movie was published in its entirety in X. The animated feature was originally scheduled to be released in theaters on October 9, but the studio decided to release it exclusively on Paramount+ instead, leading to fan outcry.
The Legend of Aang is based on the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was animated by Australian-based Flying Bark Productions.
“We were heartbroken to see footage from The Last Airbender leaked online. This leak did not originate from Flying Bark,” a spokesperson said. “Our studio is proud to support the production throughout and would like to thank the filmmakers, cast, artists and animators who worked tirelessly to create this incredibly well-crafted film.”
While piracy is common on social media platforms, it is highly unusual for an entire movie to be leaked long before its release date. Artists who worked on the film expressed their disappointment on social media.
At the time of the leak, animator Julia Scholl posted on X: “We’ve been working on the Anne movie for years. We were hoping to celebrate all of our hard work in theaters… only to see people disrespectfully leak the movie and spread our shots on Twitter like candy.”
Parmount+ announced last December that it would release the film on its streaming platform. The film’s director, Lauren Montgomery, announced last month that production on the film had ended in an Instagram post, expressing regret over the decision.
“We celebrated the end of our four-year journey by screening our final film for our staff,” she wrote. “Currently waiting in limbo for an October release…The recent decision to move from a theatrical release to a streaming release may give the impression that the quality isn’t up to snuff, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. This movie deserves to be seen on the big screen!!! I can’t wait for you to see it!”
The voice cast includes Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, and Eric Nam, and William Mata serves as co-director.
