--- a/importlib_metadata/__init__.py
+++ b/importlib_metadata/__init__.py
@@ -836,8 +836,7 @@
         return []
 
     def zip_children(self):
-        # deferred for performance (python/importlib_metadata#502)
-        from zipp.compat.overlay import zipfile
+        import zipfile
 
         zip_path = zipfile.Path(self.root)
         names = zip_path.root.namelist()
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -22,9 +22,6 @@
 ]
 requires-python = ">=3.9"
 license = "Apache-2.0"
-dependencies = [
-	"zipp>=3.20",
-]
 dynamic = ["version"]
 
 [project.urls]