Major studios Fox and Warner Bros. are rethinking previewing all-exclusive sneak peek footage after a series of recorded footage of full presentations and sizzle reels were leaked online.
Spoiler alert: this is why we can't have nice things.
Warner Bros.' Suicide Squad and Fox's Deadpool both saw hasty, unplanned premieres when trigger-happy fans posted low-res smartphone videos of the respective events on social media, according to Deadline. And it looks like the studios - or Warner Bros., at any rate - are not going to take it anymore.
In a statment issued by Sue Kroll, the president of worldwide marketing and international distribution for Warner Bros., the studio derided spoilsports for ruining premiere presentations specifically curated for fans:
"We have no plans currently to release the Suicide Squad footage that leaked from Hall H on Saturday. It's unfortunate and ultimately damaging that one individual broke a long-standing trust we have enjoyed with our fans at the convention by posting early material, which, at this point, was not intended for a wider audience. We are still in production on Suicide Squad, and will have a big campaign launch in the future. Our presentation yesterday was designed to be experienced in that room, on those big screens!"
This particular "Leaker-Gate" might be a watershed moment for Comic-Con sizzler reels, possibly inhibiting the content of screenings in the future. As Deadline points out, there is a chance that the debacle might change the ways in which exclusive sneak peeks are released to the general public, perhaps swapping them out for behind-the-scenes footage of a film is still in production, much like the Star Wars team did this year at Comic-Con.
Fox has yet to release a statement on the leak.
