Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Squid Game Director Denies He Plagiarised Japanese Movie As The Gods Will

There really are many similar scenes.

There really are many similar scenes.

There really are many similar scenes.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

South Korean Netflix series Squid Game, where cash-strapped individuals participate in deadly games to win a huge cash prize, is probably the hottest drama right now.

However, the show's director Hwang Donghyuk has been accused of plagiarising 2014 Japanese movie As The Gods Will, which follows a similar plot, except the participants are high school students.

The 50-year-old has denied the accusations, saying that there is “no connection” between the two shows and that parallels were drawn only because of how similar the first game in both shows were.

He said, “I started planning [Squid Game] in 2008 and began writing the script in 2009 (…) the similarities that were pointed out are purely coincidental and there is no copying from either party. I don’t want to [claim ownership] of the story but if have to say it, I’ll say that I did it [before As The Gods Will].”

1 of 1 Scenes from As The Gods Will (left) vs Squid Game (right)

Netizens have pointed out that Squid Game and As The Gods Will share many similar scenes, and they even accuse Squid Game of being a complete rip-off of the Japanese movie.

Netizens have also criticised Donghyuk’s attitude towards the scandal and how he has not properly addressed why so many of the scenes he shot are so similar to As The Gods Will.

One netizen said: “Having multiple overlapping scenes suggests that he knowingly shot them the same way. Copying another show's cinematography is just too obvious.”

Related topics

Squid Game

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.