The Studio season 1 episode 4 ending explained: Why does Olivia Wilde steal the film reel?

The Studio season 1 episode 4, titled The Missing Reel, aired on April 9, 2025, on Apple TV+. Written by Peter Huyck, the episode is directed by Evan Goldberg and the show's lead star, Seth Rogen. He plays Matt Remick, the newly-appointed head of Continental Studios, who is passionate about preserving the old art of filmmaking despite the new-age digital practices.

The show's fourth episode rolls out like a whodunnit, with Matt going on a quest to find the missing reel from Olivia Wilde's latest film, Rolling Blackout. In the end, he discovers that Olivia herself stole the film reel because she wanted to reshoot the shootout sequence to her satisfaction.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Studio season 1 episode 4.

Matt searches for a missing film reel in The Studio season 1 episode 4

Seth Rogen seen as Matt Remick in The Studio season 1 episode 4 (Image via Apple TV)

The Studio season 1 episode 4 begins with Matt raving about his love for shooting on film, while watching the dailies in his studio's projection room. When the technician asks about Olivia Wilde's directorial project, Rolling Blackout, he adds that it centers on the solar panel industry in Los Angeles. But, the technician dismisses the neo-noir detective film as a rip-off of 1974's Chinatown.

Matt goes into a frenzy when his executive and close friend, Sal Saperstein, informs him that one of the film reels from Rolling Blackout has gone missing. To make matters worse, the reel features an extensive shootout scene from the film's third act that will be costly to reshoot.

As the film has already gone over budget, Matt takes it upon himself to find the missing reel before they officially wrap up the film's shooting in several hours.

After going through a few suspects, Matt discovers that Olivia stole the reel to force him into agreeing to a reshoot. She was not satisfied with the way the sequence was filmed and wanted a bigger budget to reshoot it. As Matt and Sal confront her about the reel, the trio gets into a scuffle that sends them rolling down the hill.

In the end, the reel is lost and Matt is forced to agree to reshoot the action sequence with a machine gun to bring Olivia's vision to life. It ends up costing $2 million, which Matt pays for by selling his Corvette to Zac Efron.

Also read: The Studio release schedule: All episodes and where to watch them

How does Matt realize Olivia is behind the theft in The Studio season 1 episode 4?

Olivia Wilde appears as herself in The Studio season 1 episode 4 (Image via Apple TV+)

Matt and Sal learn that 10 reels were loaded into the van and sent to the facility, but only nine arrived at the destination. The PA, Fred, tells them the crew was pissed at Olivia for going into full "David Fincher" mode during the last week of filming. He reports that Olivia made the lead star, Zac Efron, do 40 takes of putting on a hat.

Furthermore, the sequence in the reel features a cameo from Olivia, which Matt had suggested. She plays a member of the 7th Street Riders Gang, who all sport the same tattoos on their wrists. All the actors playing gang members, including Olivia, got the fake tattoo of number 7 engulfed in flames. Matt recognizes seeing the tattoo in a picture shared by Zac from around the time the reel was stolen.

In the picture's background, someone is flaunting the same tattoo on their wrist. Also, in the second half of the episode, Sal remembers that Olivia smelled of rubbing alcohol, which is used to remove fake tattoos, when she spoke to them earlier. They also take into account that the director was unhappy with Zac's performance in the shootout scene.

After connecting all the dots, Matt and Sal figure out that Olivia is behind the missing reel and confront her while she shoots the film's last sequence near the Hollywood sign.

Matt suspects Zac Efron in The Studio season 1 episode 4

An image of Seth Rogen from The Studio season 1 episode 4 (Image via Apple TV)

At one point, Matt suspects Zac Efron of stealing the reel to spite Olivia. He meets Zac inside his trailer, but the actor throws shade at him for canceling the wrap party to cut costs when he recently purchased an original '53 Corvette for himself.

Afterwards, Matt goes snooping around in Zac's trailer and finds an envelope filled with cash, which he considers payment for someone he hired to steal the reel. Soon after, Matt and Sal watch Evelyn Dietrichson, the film's costume designer, leave with the envelope. They follow her to a smokehouse, where she trades the envelope with a mysterious man in exchange for a box.

Evelyn then heads to the Chateau Marmont, where Zac is currently staying. Matt is stopped from entering the hotel due to an exclusive private event being held inside. He gets even more suspicious when he sees Sal enter the hotel after telling him he's going home. He finds his way inside by pretending to be a server and enters Zac's room, hoping to catch both of them red-handed.

To his surprise, he finds Zac hosting a secret wrap party for the film's cast and crew. Matt was not invited as the crew was angry at him for canceling the official wrap party. Olivia was also excluded as they didn't want to be around her. Matt notices the mysterious box on the table and finds that it contains souvenir hats for everyone and not his film reel, as he had originally thought.

Fans of the show can watch The Studio season 1 episode 4 on Apple TV+.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie as she enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by Meenakshi Ajith