Michael Sheen WWII film at centre of $105m lawsuit after master copy stolen

A new Second World War film starring Michael Sheen has become the focus of a $105 million lawsuit after an unreleased master copy was stolen from Netflix's Los Angeles offices.

The film, Fortitude, is an espionage drama inspired by the Allied deception campaign before the D-Day landings. Its cast includes Nicolas Cage, Ben Kingsley, Matthew Goode, Ron Perlman, Alice Eve and Lukas Haas. Sheen's role has not been revealed.

Producer and writer Simon Afram has sued Netflix in California, claiming the theft has seriously reduced the film's commercial value. He says an unencrypted master copy was delivered to Netflix in June while the company was considering acquiring the film. The production team later learned the drive was among several reportedly stolen from Netflix's offices.

Afram argues that distributors may be unwilling to buy the film because of the risk it could be leaked online. He says he invested more than $45 million in the project, which took seven years to complete.

Netflix denies it is responsible, saying the film was delivered without standard industry security protections. The company said it investigated the theft, monitored piracy websites for leaks and has found no evidence that the film has appeared online.

Directed by Simon West, Fortitude tells the story of Operation Fortitude, the Allied deception campaign that helped convince Nazi Germany the D-Day invasion would take place at Pas-de-Calais instead of Normandy. Nicolas Cage plays real-life double agent Dusko Popov, who is often cited as an inspiration for James Bond.