A previously brewing lawsuit against The Shape of Water for that film having allegedly plagiarized the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Zindel has been dismissed, according to The Hollywood Reporter. On Friday, Disney’s Fox units, Guillermo del Toro, and other defendants filed court papers indicating that the parties involved in the litigation had reached an agreement to dismiss the case.
“David Zindel, the son of Paul Zindel, author of Let Me Hear You Whisper, acknowledges, based on confidential information obtained during the litigation process, that his claims of plagiarism are unfounded,” a spokesperson for the defendants said in a statement. “He acknowledges Guillermo del Toro as the true creator of The Shape of Water. Any similarity between the two works is coincidental.”
The Shape of Water is a delightfully weird and weirdly delightful romance story about a fishman and the mute cleaner at the high-security government laboratory where the former is being held. Released in 2017, the film received 13 nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, going on to win four: Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Director, and Best Picture.
Del Toro’s next upcoming project is a similarly whimsical one–this year is expected to see the release of his stop-motion animated musical version of Pinocchio on Netflix. Its recently revealed cast includes Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and Cate Blanchett.
