Grand Theft Auto fans are calling out some suspiciously familiar-looking art featured in the new Netflix show, The Snitch Cartel: Origins. The Colombian crime drama is part of the new lineup of TV series and movies that Netflix added in July. It is based on the novel by Andrés López López, which has been adapted several times before, including a TV series in 2008 and a movie in 2011. As the title of the new show implies, this latest adaptation tells the origin story of the Colombian drug lords at the center of the story.
The Grand Theft Auto series previously featured a Colombian cartel leader named Catalina, who was the primary antagonist of GTA 3. She was also present in GTA San Andreas but since that game is set several years before GTA 3, Catalina was still just a bank robber and criminal then. It’s also been rumored that the much-awaited and still unannounced next major entry in the series, GTA 6, will feature drug-running and Colombian cartels as part of both its gameplay mechanics and plot elements.
The artwork in question was posted on the GTA Online subreddit by user Frandoy, who shared several images from The Snitch Cartel: Origins’ title sequence and placed them beside similar-looking artwork from either GTA 5 or GTA Online for comparison. Several commenters on the post pointed out some of the alleged similarities between the artwork, which shows several characters in different situations, including details such as the shading and wrinkles on the clothes as well as the poses of the characters and framing of the images.
While many artists do take inspiration from each other, there have been cases wherein it goes too far and crosses over into plagiarism. Earlier this year, an artist named Kitt Lapeña claimed that the Magic: The Gathering card Crux of Fate uses fan art they created in 2016. The game’s producer Wizards of the Coast made a statement confirming the accusation and said that it would suspend work with the artist credited on the card pending an investigation. Soon after, the said artist, Jason Felix, admitted to plagiarising the work of both Kitt Lapeña and another artist named Raymond Swanland for the art of Crux of Fate and apologized for their actions.
With how recent the Reddit post is, it’s unclear whether either Netflix or Rockstar Games will take notice of the similar artwork and whether or not either one will take any action. Especially when the definitions and differences between derivative, transformative, and plagiarized work can get murky and confusing at times. But with the massive popularity of Grand Theft Auto, fans who see The Snitch Cartel: Origins will likely notice the similarities between the artwork from the two.
Source: Frandoy/Reddit