Netflix denies filmmaker Soham Shah’s plagiarism allegations over Squid Games, says claim holds 'no merit'

Netflix has denied allegations of plagiarising filmmaker Soham Shah’s Luck film in the popular Korean series ‘Squid Games’. The director filed a lawsuit against the streaming giant as well as the creators of Squid Games on Saturday alleging that the concept of the series was lifted from his movie.

Denying the allegation, the streaming platform said that it has “no merit.In response to the lawsuit, the streaming giant said, "'Squid Game' was created and written by Hwang Dong-hyuk, and we intend to defend this matter vigorously." Netflix insisted that Shah's accusations have no basis and that the series was an entirely original work by Hwang.
Hwang has previously mentioned that he began developing the script in 2009. However, Netflix maintains that any resemblance between the two works is purely coincidental and that Squid Game is a unique creation from Hwang's own imagination.

The legal documents obtained by TMZ reveal that Shah claims that his film 'Luck' is centred around a group of people playing deadly games in hopes of winning a jackpot. Bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt, Imran Khan, and Shruti Haasan starred in the movie. It was released worldwide in July 2009, with screenings in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the UAE.
With each player's death, the prize pool grows—a detail that, Shah says, closely mirrors the plot of the popular Korean web series. In the lawsuit, Shah also pointed out that Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of Squid Game, has publicly revealed that he began working on the script for his series in 2009. Shah says that the timing of Hwang’s work aligns suspiciously with the release of Luck, arguing that the Korean series took inspiration from his film's premise.

Netflix is facing another $170 million lawsuit filed over their Emmy-nominated show 'Baby Reindeer'. The lawsuit has been filed by Fiona Harvey claiming that the show’s stalker, Martha Scott, was based on her interactions with its creator, writer and star Richard Gadd. According to reports, a federal judge has set a trial date of May 6, 2025.