A new poster for upcoming slasher ScreamVI features a subway-like map in the shape of Ghostface.
It’s a clever design that connects all the characters the fictional killer has murdered in the film series with each line distinguished by color.
Many fans love the new design — but was the idea stolen from another artist?
In a statement posted to social media, graphic designer Gil Marcel Cordeiro exposed the similarities between his design, which he shared back in early December 2022, and the official poster, which was released on Jan. 1, 2023.
“This January 1st, I received the surprising news that the studio responsible for marketing #ScreamVI had released a new teaser poster. Several users, on Twitter and Instagram who had already liked and shared my art, published on December 3rd, pointed out that, curiously, the poster released by Paramount has several similarities with my work,” he wrote on Instagram, noting the “concept and genesis of the piece” which took him roughly 40 hours to complete.
“I’m not saying here that there was (or that there wasn’t) plagiarism, it’s just a matter of verifying how much the two pieces are similar in several levels and aspects, which rules out the possibility of saying that it would just be a mere coincidence, or a curious case of random creative choices during a marketing campaign,” the artist continued.
Cordeiro also claimed he had not been in contact with Paramount or anyone who worked on it Scream VI.
“As a fan, I love that my work is shared, and I’m still excited about the campaign for the sixth film … but, as a professional, I’m still disappointed with what happened,” he concluded.
See his full statement below, and scroll through the images to see his design:
On Twitter, some fans equaled the similarities to mere coincidence, but others were convinced that the designs were too similar to ignore.
To one tweet suggesting the latter, Cordeiro revised with a GIF of Ryan Reynolds nodding with the caption: “Yup.”
Meanwhile, yet another artist revised to Cordeiro and compared their own respective artwork to another new one ScreamVI poster that features a cityscape with billboards of Ghostface.
“Same here with my artwork,” they wrote.
Scream VI features returning stars Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Courteney Cox and Hayden Panettiere, among others.
The film is out March 10, 2023.