After months of speculation,Squid Gamecreator Hwang Dong-hyuk recently confirmed thattwo more seasons of the show are in development at Netflix. While Hwang didn’t reveal much about the storyline, lead star Lee Jung-jae, who plays the main character, Seong Gi-hun, dropped a bombshell about season 2 in a recent interview. Talking toPeople Magazine, Lee first discussed the immense popularity ofSquid Gameand how season 2 is just inevitable now.
“A second season has become inevitable in a way. I remember when we were shooting, I asked [creator Hwang Dong-hyuk] if there’d be a second season, and he said, ‘I don’t think so. That’s going to be very difficult.’ But we can’t not do one now, because we’ve received so much love all across the world.”
Netflix’s Korean-language original,Squid Game,became a global phenomenon mere days after its premiere this September. You may not have seen it yet, but it’s almost impossible not to have heard ofSquid Game. After spending a decade in development hell, the show was finally greenlit by Netflix in 2019, and it paid huge dividends for the streamer.Squid Gameis nowNetflix’s most-watched series ever, having surpassed the likes ofStranger ThingsandBridgerton, and that too, by a big margin.
On the surface,Squid Gameis about 456 financially struggling “losers”, who participate in a contest called Squid Game, where they play six simple children’s games to win a cash prize of 45.6 billion Korean Won (around $38 million). But the catch is that all the games are to the death, literally. The games may be simple, but winning is not when your life is at stake all the time. Players survive numerous ordeals both in the arena and outside until only one remains. WhileSquid Gamefeatures tons of violence and emotionally wrecking moments, it also tackles themes of capitalism and economic disparity.
AndSpoiler Alert!Seong Gi-hun ends up as the winner. Korean megastar Lee Jung-Jae portrayed the likable and selfless Gi-hun, a divorced father and indebted gambler who lives with his ailing mother. Gi-hun suffered a lot playing these deadly games and wouldn’t want to put himself into another life and death situation again, right? Wrong.Squid Gameseason one ended on an ambiguous note, with Gi-hun supposedly determined to take down this organization that lets desperate people kill each other for entertainment. Lee says that he’s in the blue about what’s going down next inSquid Game, but what he does know is that Gi-hun will play the games again.
“I hope there’s some sort of twist that’ll be exciting and surprising for me and the viewers. If it was predictable, it would be no fun. I have no idea what will happen or the scale of it, but the only thing [Hwang] did tell me was that Seong Gi-hun is going to be in the show again, and he’s going to be playing in the arena again.”
Seong Gi-hun, having already won, knows all the secrets and would have a high chance of winning another competition. But speaking of unpredictability, we could see Gi-hun forcibly or intentionally playing a different set of games. The possibilities are endless, and hopefully,Squid Gameseason 2turns out to be just as impressive as the first one. Also starring Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, HoYeon Jung, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, and Anupam Tripathi,Squid Gameis exclusively streaming on Netflix.
