- Squid Game’s second season plays out differently to its predecessor
- Only half of the games are shown in season 2
- Season 3 will drop in 2025
Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has revealed why he split the show’s infamous deadly games over two seasons.
Read more: All we know about Squid Game season 3
In the K-drama’s first season, which dropped in 2021, we see Gi-hun participate in all six games. He then walked away with the entire prize pot. However, season 2 only features three games across its seven episodes.
Now, Hwang has revealed that he originally envisioned the story for season two and three as a single season. Things changed, however, when he realised he had too much material to cram into just one package of episodes.
“I originally envisioned it as a single series, so both seasons two and three as a single series when I was writing it,” Hwang told CinemaBlend. “But then, as I wrote the story along, it became to be too many episodes and too long of a story because you see Gi-hun’s journey where he returns to the game, but also he goes through a revolt, and that is actually the climax of that storyline, where he tries to create an uprising, but then that all goes to failure.
“And I also saw that aspect of it as yet another game as well, and so I thought that we would divide it into two seasons to have that – Gi-hun’s revolt going into a failure, him ending up losing his best friend, that itself being yet another important climatic event in the first half of the season, so into season two.”
He added: “And to put a stop there, I thought that would just be the right adequate moment to rest and have it continue on in the further season because after Gi-hun experiences that event, based on the failure, as well as that immense sense of guilt, you’re going to get yet another character arc from Gi-hun. So I thought it would be better to divide that for another season.”
When might we see Squid Game season 3?
In August, Hwang confirmed that Squid Game’s the show’s third season will be its last.
However, there isn’t likely to be such a big gap between seasons two and three. This is because the second and third seasons were shot back to back.
“At this point, anything I might say is going to be a spoiler, so I want to be cautious,” Hwang told Variety. But what I can say is, after Season two launches, I believe we will be announcing the launch date for Season three soon.”
As for when season three might come out, Hwang said: “I probably expect that to launch around summer or fall next year.”
What else is next for the show?
In addition, Hwang has said that season 3 won’t spell the end for the dystopian thriller. In fact, there’s an English version on the way, with David Fincher attached to make it happen.
“I know Netflix has a plan. They are not going to throw this idea away,” Hwang told TheWrap. “Maybe I’ll be in one of those projects as an advisor or co-creator. Who knows? But Season 3 is not going to be the end of the Squid Game universe.”
Not many details have emerged yet, but the show will apparently be set in the US.
There will also be a second season of spin-off show Squid Game: The Challenge.
