Singapore police arrest man in Avatar Aang film leak investigation

Singapore police have arrested a 26-year-old man in a leak case that pushed Paramount’s latest Avatar feature from a studio security problem into a criminal inquiry. Investigators said he allegedly gained unauthorized remote access to a media-content server, downloaded the unreleased film and posted parts of it online.

Police said they received a report on April 16, 2026, that extracts from an unreleased animated film were circulating on social media. After the arrest on April 24, officers seized multiple electronic devices and recovered a copy of the film from one of them. The man is being investigated for unauthorized access to computer material, an offense that can carry up to seven years in jail, a fine of up to S$50,000, or both under Singapore law.

The case underscores how aggressively studios are now pursuing pre-release leaks, especially when a full film surfaces rather than isolated clips. Variety reported that the entire movie had been posted on X and remained viewable days later despite takedown efforts. Paramount’s own investigation had already concluded the leak did not come from within its systems, and Flying Bark Productions, the Australia-based animation studio that worked on the project, also said the breach did not originate there.

The film, now known as Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender and tied to Avatar Studios, is based on Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender series. It is directed by Lauren Montgomery with Steve Ahn and William Mata, and features voice performances by Eric Nam, Dave Bautista, Jessica Matten, Román Zaragoza, Steven Yeun, Dionne Quan, Taika Waititi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Freida Pinto and Ke Huy Quan. Paramount had originally set a theatrical release for October 9, 2026, before shifting the project to Paramount+ in December 2025 as a streaming-only title, a move that drew fan protest.

The leak also drew anger from artists on the production. Animator Julia Schoel said the movie had been worked on for years and called the leak disrespectful to the artists’ work. For studios, the Singapore arrest shows that leak investigations can move quickly from digital forensics to police action, and that pre-release piracy is now being treated not just as copyright harm but as a matter of criminal enforcement.