Streaming giant Netflix has issued a statement in response to plagiarism claims against its highly acclaimed Korean series, Squid Game.
The company refutes the accusations, stating, “This claim has no merit. Squid Game was created and written by Hwang Dong Hyuk, and we intend to defend this matter vigorously.”
The lawsuit, filed by director Soham Shah, alleges that Netflix’s Squid Game plagiarised his 2009 film Luck. According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Shah contends that the Squid Game series mirrors the plot of Luck, which centres on a group of desperate individuals drawn into a high-stakes series of competitive games with the promise of substantial monetary rewards.
Shah claims that Netflix, having had access to Luck due to its considerable marketing and advertising efforts, could have used this material while creating Squid Game, which was produced between 2018 and 2019.
Luck is an action thriller featuring Mithun Chakraborty, Shruti Haasan, Imran Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Danny Denzongpa, Ravi Kishan, and Chitrashi Rawat. The film’s plot involves characters participating in life-threatening challenges in hopes of winning a fortune.
