Squid Game is officially coming back to Netflix for season two. According to a message from director Hwang Dong-hyuk, the second season will see the return of Gi-hun and the mysterious Front Man. The note also states “the man in the suit with ddakji might be back,” and that we’ll also get introduced to Cheol-su, Young-hee’s boyfriend.
“It took 12 years to bring the first season of ‘Squid Game’ to life last year. But it took 12 days for ‘Squid Game’ to become the most popular Netflix series ever,” Hwang writes. “As the writer, director, and producer of ‘Squid Game,’ a huge shout out to fans around the world. Thank you for watching and loving our show… Join us once more for a whole new round.”
The renewal occurs despite the shift in Netflix’s fortunes since the show originally debuted. While Squid Game has been a massive worldwide hit, in April Netflix reported its first drop in subscribers in 10 years. That was quickly followed by layoffs and a reported tightening of production budgets practically across the board. Netflix is also focused on limiting password sharing, and has told employees it will launch ad-supported streaming by the end of this year.
The Korean series became Netflix’s biggest series ever at launch. Last year, Hwang said that he was in the “planning process” of developing season two, while Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said, “the Squid Game universe has just begun.” In other words, we all pretty much knew season two was coming, but now it’s official.
It’s unclear when exactly season two will make its debut — or if it’s even finished yet. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hwang told the outlet he could see the next season of Squid Game coming out by the end of 2023 or 2024, and will feature more diabolical games. So if you were hoping to see what sort of trouble Gi-hun gets wrapped up in next, you might have to wait a year or two.
wazup.