A24 faces backlash over unconsulted SCP Foundation film adaptation
A24 is producing a V/H/S horror anthology film set in the SCP Foundation universe, but the announcement has sparked backlash due to the studio's failure to engage with the SCP community. The SCP Foundation Wiki states it has had no communication with the filmmakers despite attempting contact, raising concerns given A24's previous missteps with Backrooms, when the studio filed copyright claims against other creators. This lack of engagement undermines goodwill and raises questions about the studio's approach to community-driven intellectual property.
The problem is fundamental: the SCP Foundation operates under a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 ShareAlike licence, which permits anyone to create and distribute works based on SCP material provided adaptations are released under identical licence terms. Legally, A24 can make and release the film theatrically, but it cannot claim exclusive distribution rights or prevent anyone else from creating competing SCP adaptations or redistributing A24's own film. This creates an unusual and potentially impractical business model for a major studio, as legal experts confirm A24 would have no legal recourse against competitors.
- A24 ignored SCP community despite shared Creative Commons licence.
- Studio cannot claim exclusive rights or stop competing adaptations.
- Undermines traditional distribution model for a major studio release.
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The SCP Foundation is a collaborative fiction project created by a global community of writers, who write stories about mysterious objects and phenomena supposedly locked away by a secretive international organisation. The stories are published online under a licence that allows anyone to adapt and redistribute them, provided adaptations use the same licence terms.
Film studio A24 has announced plans to produce a horror anthology film set in the SCP Foundation universe. The announcement did not involve consultation with the Foundation community beforehand, which differs from standard Hollywood practice where studios negotiate with rights holders before adapting existing material.
The core issue stems from the licence, which requires that any adaptations remain free to use and redistribute on identical terms. This creates an unusual business situation for A24, since it means the studio cannot claim exclusive distribution rights, prevent others from making competing SCP films, or legally restrict how copies of their film are shared.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The SCP Foundation is fundamentally a collaborative creation whose CC BY-SA license was chosen to foster community stewardship, not to serve as a free pass for commercial exploitation without engagement. A24's failure to consult despite documented contact attempts treats thousands of volunteer creators as irrelevant to their own work, and the studio's documented pattern with Backrooms—filing copyright claims against other creators—demonstrates a troubling misunderstanding of open-source principles. Proceeding without the community's participation betrays the values that define this shared universe.
The case against
A24's legal entitlement under CC BY-SA 3.0 to create and commercially distribute the film is clear and unambiguous; consultation, whilst perhaps courteous, is not a contractual obligation. Requiring approval from thousands of distributed wiki contributors would paralyse production and cede creative control to people without professional filmmaking experience. A24 is investing substantial resources to bring the SCP universe to mainstream theatrical audiences far beyond what community creators alone could achieve, and that is value creation, not theft. No adaptation satisfies every creator's vision when the source is collaborative, and the studio's responsibility is to make a quality film that honours the material, not to obtain consensus.
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Originally published by The Verge as “A24’s reputation is on the line with the SCP Foundation movie”.