Fans started flooding social media with phone-recorded videos of ‘Wicked’ scenes ever since the film saw release last week. This sparked debates about piracy on the internet while an anonymous studio executive pointed at Marvel’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ as the reason.
“Something has happened post-pandemic where movie theater behavior has really changed,” the executive recently told Variety. “They have a different relationship with the material, it’s all just content to them…Something really happened with [‘Deadpool & Wolverine’].”
The studio chief referred to the threequel’s promotional phase, during which director Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman re-shared bootleg footage from fans online. Instead of facing copyright restrictions, posts were used to build anticipation for the movie.
Variety reported that neither Reynolds nor Levy commented on the accusations but noted, “A source familiar with Levy’s thinking said he never intentionally shared material shot in theaters and is strongly opposed to piracy.”
The outlet also added that Universal Pictures was actively working with a team to remove illegal ‘Wicked’ videos and images from the internet.
Talks of bootlegs followed Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s controversial comments on the theater etiquette. Saying they paid for the ticket, the actor encouraged the audience to sing during ‘Moana 2’ screenings right after people criticized ‘Wicked’ fans on similar behavior.
