Sundance Film Festival: Twinless pulled from digital platform after Dylan O’Brien’s sex scenes leak online

Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney, his Twinless co-star, writer and director. Photo / Getty Images

Illegally recorded explicit sex scenes in Dylan O’Brien’s new movie were leaked on social media, with the festival it debuted at making a drastic move in response.

Actor Dylan O’Brien’s latest movie has been pulled from a streaming platform after the star’s detailed sex scenes from the film were recorded illegally and distributed on social media.

Former Teen Wolf and The Maze Runner star O’Brien, 33, stars in the upcoming comedy-drama film Twinless, which this week won the Audience Award at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

The film, written and directed by O’Brien’s co-star James Sweeney, tells the story of two young men who “strike up an unlikely, sexually intense friendship after meeting in a support group for twinless twins.”

As well as screening at the festival, it was available to stream on Sundance’s own streaming platform for Sundance Film Festival members who couldn’t attend a screening.

But in recent days, footage of a sex scene between the two actors’ have circulated on X, with O’Brien’s name trending on the platform.

Dylan O'Brien and James Sweeney in a scene from Twinless. Photo / Sundance Institute

Fans were shocked to see the actor, who is reportedly dating model Rachael Lange and has in the past been linked to stars including Selena Gomez and Sabrina Carpenter, in such a graphic same-sex scene.

“Dylan O’Brien Oscar nominee incoming,” one person who shared the footage online quipped.

Others tweeted that they’d clicked on O’Brien’s name as he was a trending topic, only to be surprised by the R-rated content they were confronted with.

As the clips circulated, Sundance took action that organisers said was “unprecedented” in the festival’s history: They took Twinless, a film still seeking distribution, off their streaming platform.

“The film Twinless was a victim of some copyright infringement on various social media platforms therefore the festival in partnership with the filmmakers have made the decision to remove the film from the Sundance Film Festival online platform. We regret that online ticket holders will no longer be able to access the film,’” a Sundance spokesperson said in a statement to Variety, who reported on the issue.

Dylan O’Brien’s name became a trending topic on X this week after graphic scenes from the film Twinless were recorded illegally and distributed on social media. Photo / Getty Images

“We acknowledge and regret the disappointment this may cause. However, part of our commitment to advocating for independent filmmakers is ensuring that they can protect the art that they have created — now and in the future.”

Another film showing at Sundance this year, the documentary Selena y Los Dinos, suffered the same fate this week after clips from it began to circulate online.

It’s not the first time in recent months that a racy scene featuring O’Brien has gained attention online – last year, his eye-catching role in the HBO series Fantasmas went viral after he was featured in the show’s trailer wearing nothing but red lingerie.