At this point, more Squid Game seems inevitable—so much so that creator Hwang Dong-hyuk feels he has “no choice” but to deliver a second season of the hit dystopian drama. He admitted as much at a special screening of the series hosted by Netflix at NeueHouse in Los Angeles this week.
“There’s been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season,” he told the Associated Press on the red carpet. “So, I almost feel like you leave us no choice!”
Hwang said he has a rough idea of what a second season of the series would be about. Though he insisted that it was too early to talk specifics, he did promise this: “Gi-hun will come back. He’ll do something for the world.”
COMEBACK SQUID: Hwang Dong-hyuk, the director, creator, writer of #SquidGame says the show will be back with more Gi-hun adventures. pic.twitter.com/uqC1DIdZqy
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) November 9, 2021
Netflix, meanwhile, has not yet confirmed a second season.
The South Korean series has been, by all accounts, a major surprise hit for Netflix, and is possibly the streaming service’s most viewed show ever. It concerns a group of economically disadvantaged people who agree to compete in deadly children’s games in the hopes of winning a life-changing cash prize. Spoiler alert: Season 1 ended with gambler and deadbeat dad Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) seemingly setting out to find the sinister cabal behind the games—the perfect set-up for another season.
Previously, Hwang discussed his ideas for where the story could go. While the first season revolved around the theme of economic inequality, Hwang is interested in exploring another timely hot button issue in a future installment: police corruption.
“I think the issue with police officers is not just an issue in Korea,” he told The Times last month. “I see it on the global news that the police force can be very late on acting on things—there are more victims or a situation gets worse because of them not acting fast enough. This was an issue that I wanted to raise. Maybe in season two I can talk about this more.”
I’ve had misgivings about whether more Squid Game is a good idea. But if a second season is inevitable—and let’s be real, there’s no way Netflix isn’t going to make more of its biggest hit ever—at least Hwang seems intent on sneaking more social commentary into the bloody hijinks.
