We’ve entered a new era filled to the brim with leaks and spoilers hitting the web ahead of any project’s official release. Marvel Studios’ films and Disney+ shows are seemingly hit extremely often, as entire screenshots find their way online right before a film releases. Many sites also dabble in the world of running scoops on whatever the new hottest commodity is in the latest entry.
In an interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron has shared his thoughts on this new “scoop culture” and what it also means for those surfing the web looking to find out what their most-anticipated project might be working on behind the scenes and how Marvel Studios’ famed secrecy has created a very interesting internet culture.
I like the idea it can mythologize otherwise. I have so much respect for what you do, for what everybody, all the fan sites do, because that was the shit that I grew up reading. I’m such a child of Coming Attractions by Corona, Ain’t It Cool News. That stuff is probably a big reason why I’m a writer. The scoop culture, to some extent, I’m like great, that’s part of it. I think that it’s our job…we want to preserve these secrets because it just makes a better experience in the theater for the audience. You’re going to get a better POP from the audience if they don’t know what’s coming.
Michael Waldron
Though he also highlights one aspect that is commonly forgotten on the web, and that is most cinema-goers have no idea about the many spoilers hitting the web. As he points out, those that actively search for it are the ones to get it spoiled the most, especially when stories are dropped
But I think it’s also…you can really if you spend a lot of time online, you can come to think that if something is spoiled on a corner of the internet that suddenly the whole world knows. But they don’t. It’s the people who are actively seeking that out and who want to find that stuff. And if they want to find it out, that means it’s probably going to enhance their enjoyment of the movie.
Michael Waldron
He also highlights that his biggest concern is if this kind of news hits bigger outlets that would spoil it for the general audience that typically isn’t on the Internet frequently and only finds out through official trailers if they include any references.
And the people who don’t wanna find out, probably aren’t. It’s like, I would be mad if it headlines news on CNN about who was in the Illuminati, but it’s not. There’s [a] spoiler warning and you know where you’re going if you go to a spoiler website. It’s like it’s what we do. It’s like the symbiotic nature of this stuff and it just builds anticipation and excitement. I think it’s cool.
Michael Waldron
It’s definitely great to get some insight into the perspective of the modern scoop culture from the perspective of someone working on these projects. As he highlights, the internet is a very different beast and there is certain anticipation if storylines or elements are teased early on.
