Hackers claim to have plundered Walt Disney’s upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean film and are threatening to release it unless the studio pays a ransom, it was reported yesterday.
Bob Iger, the studio’s CEO, told a town hall meeting of ABC employees that hackers said they had accessed the film and would release it in segments online unless paid a ransom in bitcoin, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
He did not name the film but said Disney had refused to pay and was working with federal investigators.
Deadline.com said the film was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the latest instalment of the franchise starring Johnny Depp. It is due to reach theatres on 26 May.
Disney did not immediately respond to a Guardian query seeking confirmation.
Iger said the extortionists threatened to release five minutes of the film and then 20-minute chunks unless a sizeable ransom was paid.
