Trying to keep the details of an upcoming movie under wraps has become nearly impossible. With people chronically online and some fans seemingly incapable of letting a movie be a surprise, leaks and spoilers occur all too often. It seems no matter how hard a studio or filmmaker tries to safeguard the details of their movies, someone or something will spoil it.
Much of that is attributed to scripts or plot details being leaked online. Once it’s on social media, it’s there forever. Even when the initial post is taken down, thousands of people have taken screenshots or recordings of whatever information was released ahead of schedule.
It’s not just leaks that spoil movies and send fans into a frenzy. Sometimes, it is the actors attached to those projects who spill the beans. Spider-Man star Tom Holland is notorious for spoiling the MCU movies he has been a part of, but it’s not just him. Many actors and actresses accidentally mention details about their movies during press junkets that they didn’t realize were spoilers. Or, in some cases, they simply can’t keep a lid on it. So, we have compiled a list of ten times fans lost their minds over viral movie spoilers:
10 Sylvester Stallone Tweeted The Last Page of the Creed Script
Creed
- Release Date
- November 25, 2015
- Runtime
- 2hr 13min
Creed was always going to generate hype among Rocky fans. It was the first spin-off of the main Rocky franchise that focused on someone other than Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) himself or his immediate family. Ryan Coogler’s film saw Michael B. Jordan take on the role of Adonis Johnson, son of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), as he tries to make it as a boxer like his champion father. In the movie, Adonis seeks out the now-retired Rocky to help train him as his father once did for Rocky.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Before he had even finalized the script, Stallone tweeted a picture of his desk with the caption, “Where the screenwriting happens”. On his desk was the last page of the script, turned upside down, and partially covered by Stallone’s glasses. However, eagle-eyed fans were able to decipher the words written on the page to discover that not only did Adonis win his match, but Rocky was diagnosed with cancer as well. Stream on Peacock Premium.
9 Tom Holland Revealed the Quantum Realm Would be Important in Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame
- Release Date
- April 24, 2019
- Runtime
- 180
Tom Holland has unfortunately made it known throughout Hollywood that he is nearly incapable of keeping a secret. His tendency to reveal vital plot information became so concerning that the Russo brothers stopped giving him the full script of the MCU movies he was part of. They would even go as far as lying to him about the details of a scene he was in just to avoid any potential slip-ups. Nevertheless, that still didn’t work out in their favor by the time press was being done for Avengers: Endgame.
Accidental Plot Reveal
During a press tour interview with his co-star Benedict Cumberbatch, Holland was speaking about some of the topics that certain characters had to talk about in the movie. In doing so, Holland said that Cumberbatch had to speak excessively about the Quantum Realm. Cumberbatch then had to quickly say that it was just “stuff” that his character, Doctor Strange, had to speak about. While the mention of the importance of the Quantum Realm in Endgame’s plot didn’t spoil any big moments, it did suggest that time travel could be a major factor in the Avengers’ quest to reverse the snap. Stream on Disney+.
8 Jason Momoa Revealed the King of Atlantis Before Aquaman Released
Aquaman
- Release Date
- July 6, 2018
- Director
- James Wan
- Runtime
- 140
It has been a rocky road for DC to try to build the type of cinematic universe that Marvel Studios has with the MCU. Many of their movies have received mixed reviews at best, and more often than not, fans have been left disappointed. With a cast including icons such as Willem Dafoe and Nicole Kidman joining their universe, there was hope for the DCEU with Aquaman. It was received decently by critics and audiences upon its release. However, star Jason Momoa inadvertently revealed some important information before the movie was released in theaters.
Comic Con Mishap
During a live interview at San Diego Comic Con, Momoa was talking about his character, Arthur Curry. In the interview, he talked about the ending of the movie and stated that Arthur was going to “become the thing he was destined to be”. Even though fans of the character might already have known this bit of information, he inadvertently told viewers that Arthur would become the King of Atlantis by the last scene in the movie. Stream on Netflix or Max.
7 Harrison Ford Subtly Spoiled Han Solo’s Death
It is no secret that Harrison Ford isn’t particularly fond of the Star Wars films in the way he is about other franchises such as Indiana Jones. He had been advocating for his character, Han Solo, to be killed off for years by the time Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out. He had been very vocal in his opinion that the best thing for the character would be to kill him off.
Not So Subtle Spoiler
During the press junket for The Force Awakens, Ford and director J.J. Abrams sat down for an interview together with Conan O’Brien in December 2015. The interview aired shortly before the movie’s theatrical release. In the interview, Ford expressed his desire for the character to be written out, and his thought that the character’s best utility was to sacrifice himself for a high ideal. By saying this, Ford accidentally spoiled Han Solo’s ultimate fate in the movie. Stream on Disney+.
6 Partial Leak of Terminator: Salvation’s Script Changed the Original Ending
McG’s Terminator: Salvation is a divisive entry for fans of the Terminator franchise for many reasons. It was affected by the 2007-2008 writers’ strike and faced studio interference. While the full script was never leaked online, one of the biggest setbacks the movie faced was a major plot development being leaked online by Ain’t It Cool News.
Fan Outrage Caused Last-Minute Script Change
The leak happened to involve one of the biggest spoilers of the entire movie. It was revealed that John Conor was supposed to die in the end, and his skin was to be wrapped around the body of the cyborg Marcus Wright so that he could continue to inspire the resistance movement. The uproar that the leak caused within the fan community forced the filmmakers to change the ending completely. McG denied that this was true, only to backtrack on his statement. Rent on Prime Video or Apple TV.
5 Spectre’s Script Leaked During the Sony Entertainment Hack
Spectre
- Release Date
- October 26, 2015
- Director
- Sam Mendes
- Runtime
- 145
The fifth installment of the Daniel Craig-led James Bond franchise had a difficult run. The filmmakers had to go through many last-minute changes and script overhauls before the release date. MGM’s film division President Jonathan Glickman became involved during the post-production, throwing another voice into an already chaotic environment. Costs went up, and the filmmakers struggled to fix what they thought was a dull ending. Still, that wasn’t the worst of their problems.
The Infamous Sony Hack
Spectre had the misfortune of being part of the infamous Sony Entertainment hack, which saw dozens of properties released online and in the public eye. The entire script was leaked and circulated online, with production notes still attached. This left the studio and the filmmakers no choice but to make changes at the last minute. Fan backlash over the original ending forced the writers to rewrite the ending completely. Stream on DirecTV.
4 Leaked Set Pictures from Deadpool 3 Revealed Potential Villains
The third installment in the Deadpool series has been highly anticipated since Deadpool 2 was released in 2018. Fans are eager to see what shenanigans the Merc with a Mouth gets himself caught up in this time around. It also marks the debut of the character in the MCU, and the first MCU movie to be rated R. Marvel Studios is known to keep the details of the projects strictly under wraps, but even the powerhouse Marvel execs were unable to stop the spread of set pictures on social media.
Set Pictures Suggest the Return of a Fan-Favorite Villain
In December 2023, photos from the set of Deadpool & Wolverine started circulating online. The photos showed what appeared to be The Fantastic Four’s Fantasticar, which came two months before the long-awaited movie’s official cast was announced. Aside from that, the photos also revealed the potential return of a villain from the original X-Men trilogy. The photos circulated so fast that Ryan Reynolds had to get on Instagram and condemn the spread of spoilers. Deadpool & Wolverine is in Theaters on July 26th, 2024.
3 Tom Holland Told an Entire Theater Audience Spider-Man Dies in Avengers: Infinity War
No matter how much media training or reprimands from Marvel he may have received, Tom Holland truly does have a knack for spoiling virtually everything. Aside from Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War was probably the most important movie in the MCU to avoid spoilers. By now, everyone knows that it was the first time our heroes lost, despite doing everything right. When the movie was coming out, this would have been the most devastating spoiler to hear.
Tom Holland’s Theater Mishap
When Infinity War finally hit theaters in the spring of 2018, fans were trying to avoid spoilers like the plague. Holland attended a screening of the movie on opening night with a few co-stars in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, he got the movie times mixed up. Thinking the audience had just seen the movie, he walked on stage and shouted, “I’m alive!” The video of the moment started circulating on social media and news outlets within the next few days, leaving poor Holland mortified. Stream on Disney+.
2 Scream 2 Script Leak Determined Who the Ghostface Killers Were
Scream 2
- Release Date
- December 9, 1997
- Runtime
- 120
Even in the earliest days of the Internet, audiences were not safe from reading movie spoilers. Although not many people had a dial-up set-up or even had a firm understanding of what the Internet was capable of, information still spread fast in those early days. After the major success of 1996’s Scream, Wes Craven and his team got straight to work on Scream 2, but would inevitably need to make significant character changes.
Late Script Leak Completely Changed Who the Killers Were
Production for the second installment of the now-beloved horror franchise was well underway by the time the script was leaked online. Despite the newness of the Internet, the leak spread like wildfire and forced the filmmakers to make drastic changes. Originally, there were supposed to be four Ghostface killers after the iconic final girl, Sidney Prescott. Since too many fans had heard the news, it was decided that they would cut it down to two killers, which allowed him to subvert expectations. Stream on Paramount+.
1 Mark Ruffalo Streamed the First 20 Minutes of Thor: Ragnarok
Tom Holland isn’t the only MCU actor who has a hard time zipping his lips when it comes to spoilers. Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo has had his fair share of mistakes in his 10-year career with Marvel Studios. He notably joked that everyone would die at the end of Infinity War during an interview, causing Don Cheadle to attempt to get him to be quiet. Perhaps his biggest spoiler, however, was during the release of Thor: Ragnarok.
Live-Stream Debacle
Right before the movie was about to premiere, Ruffalo had gone live on Instagram. He couldn’t figure out how to end the stream, so he just put his phone in his pocket and sat down to watch the movie. In doing so, he unknowingly live-streamed the first 20 minutes of the movie to everyone watching. He received multiple messages trying to explain to him what was happening, but he ignored them until a Disney representative came up to him and told him to turn his phone off. The audio of the recording made its rounds on social media even after it ended. Stream on Disney+.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
