*** spoilers ahead for Squid Game season one
TAKING the world by storm when it premiered on Netflix back in September, Squid Game has achieved nearly unheard of levels of success – staying at the number one spot on Netflix’s top 10 for weeks on end, making overnight stars of its actors (some of whom were already popular in South Korea) and making a play for awards in the US.
“There’s been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season. So I almost feel like you leave us no choice,” series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk told the Associated Press on Monday night, at a screening and Q&A in Los Angeles. “But I will say there will indeed be a second season. It’s in my head right now. I’m in the planning process currently.”
While the first season did indeed end with protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) setting out on a mission to take down the nefarious masterminds behind the Squid Game, Hwang did not have any ideas in mind on how a continuation would actually play out.
Hwang has also repeatedly made it clear that making Squid Game (which he wrote and directed all nine episodes) took a lot out of him, and that even though he conceived of the show in 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the process to get the show on screens was difficult.
“I don’t have well developed plans for Squid Game 2,” Hwang told Variety earlier this year. “It is quite tiring just thinking about it. But if I were to do it, I would certainly not do it alone. I’d consider using a writers room and would want multiple experienced directors.”
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
But where does the show go now?
Gi-hun is but one man, how does he intend to take on an underground international network of billionaires who are willing to ruthlessly kill?
Most of the characters from the first season – for obvious reasons – will not return. However, the Front Man – who is revealed to be the missing brother of cop Jun-ho – will likely take on the role of primary villain, perhaps even being promoted to take the place of the Old Man (Oh Il-nam, Player Number One).
Also, according to the rules of television and movies, if a character is killed but you don’t see a dead body then the character probably isn’t dead. In that sense, Jun-ho is likely still alive, though he’s probably in bad shape, falling down a cliff and all that.
Besides that anything is possible, though series creator Hwang deserves some sympathy because any new Squid Game will face a level of scrutiny that the first season did not, coming out of nowhere to surprise everyone. – The Vibes, November 11, 2021
