Alison Brie and Dave Franco Face Copyright Lawsuit Over Sundance Hit ‘Together’

Actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco, who share creative chemistry on and off screen, have suddenly found themselves the subject of a very hot legal fire. Their latest film, Together, which premiered to fanfare at last year's 2025 Sundance Film Festival as a supernatural body horror film, is the subject of an explosive copyright lawsuit. The plaintiffs argue the movie is a blatant copy of an earlier indie attempt, and controversy ensues regarding originality, impact, and Hollywood's generally obscurantist intellectual property universe.

The case, filed by independent production outfit StudioFest, alleges Together bears a close resemblance to their 2023 film Better Half, which touched on similar ideas of romantic involvement pushed to lurid extremes. Both movies share a couple who undergo an unseen, supernatural event in which their bodies—and lives—are bonded to each other's in gruesome, irrevocable manners. That hook alone can be attributed to coinkidecing, but StudioFest argues the plot coincidences, character arcs, and even many aspects of dialogue go beyond coincidence.

According to the complaint, Brie and Franco were originally approached to star in Better Half in 2020. Though they rejected the offer, StudioFest grieves that the couple had indeed seen access to the script and concept materials while the pitching was going on. Years later, Together happened with a spooky similar plot—this time, Brie and Franco not just starred, but also allegedly put in work into the storytelling. The suit also names the writer-director of the movie, Michael Shanks, talent agency WME, and distributor Neon as co-defendants.

For Brie and Franco, the charges could have come at a more inopportune moment. Together was acquired by Neon for a reported $17 million, one of the festival's biggest sales. The film was well-received by critics, with its disturbing imagery and emotional power as a daring take on the horror genre that serves as a metaphor for poisonous co-dependency. Now, its artistic merit is under attack, and the couple's careers are on the line.

The complaint in the case charges some of the points were borrowed wholesale from Better Half, down to particular philosophical references. The most controversial piece is a scene where a character's legs can be seen sticking out from under a closed door—both times. More generally, StudioFest's complaint claims the overall structure and beat of Together are borrowed their earlier work, beyond nods.

Thus far, the defendants have issued no transparent public statements regarding the lawsuit. A curt statement by WME representatives branded the claim "without merit," announcing that the parties will "vigorously defend themselves in court." Brie and Franco remain silent, wisely or not, as legal teams lead the case.

This case raises difficult questions on where inspiration bleeds into plagiarism. In a business that thrives on remakes, reboots, and genre repeat, the difference can be the width of a hair. Tropes to story—horror, especially—repeat on known themes: transformation, losing self, aloneness. But the suit argues that Together crosses the boundary, not just borrowing but too closely copying, and making a profit on someone else's original concept.

This is not the first time Hollywood has been sued in this manner, and it likely won't be the last. As independent creators struggle to break through, they often depend on access to large talent and production platforms. But when those encounters lead to accusations of idea theft, it can set careers back and discourage risk-taking in storytelling.

Lurking at the center of this lawsuit are two dueling narratives. On one side, a high-profile Hollywood pair testing artistic boundaries and presenting what they believed was an original, incendiary film. On the other, a small production company that believes it has been cheated out of its own hard-earned idea, struggling to hold a wider system accountable. The case could very well depend on proving access, intent, and substantial similarity—elusive legal abstractions that depend upon more than a surface-level comparison.

Regardless of the verdict, the backlash has already altered the conversation around Together. What was being argued about before for its innovative application of camera and unsettling storytelling is now held up to scrutiny through the lens of ethics and ownership. For Franco and Brie, the long-term consequences remain to be seen. Will the lawsuit come to devastate the release of their film? Or will the case dissipate, another bothersome claim amidst an overly litigious industry?

What is certain is that the creative community is watching. This case involves a larger cultural question: who owns an idea, and how do we protect it in a world where stories are being constantly reinterpreted? For now, those questions hang in abeyance—while the courts, and the court of public opinion, keep deliberating.

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