Squid Game creator says season 2 could land as early as 2023, promises new games will 'test' humanity

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk is green-lighting ideas for season 2.

The South Korean filmmaker confirmed he is in final discussions with Netflix for a continuation of the 2021 global hit series — which followed a group of average citizens thrust into a high-stakes competition of deadly games run by a mysterious organization — and estimated that it could be released in 2023 or 2024.

While he has only around three pages of rough material sketched out, he told Vanity Fair that he intends to turn them into a script for the show's next installment.

"Humanity is going to be put to a test through those games once again," he said, noting that Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) is definitely coming back for more, while he's also toying with the idea of bringing the mysterious Front Man — the overseer of the games played by Lee Byung-hun — from season 1 to play a bigger role in new episodes.

Speaking about the outline of season 2's potential themes, Hwang added that he wanted "to ask the question, 'Is true solidarity between humans possible?'" after the characters were "focused on wanting to kill each other off" the first time around.

Noh Juhan/Netflix Lee Jung-jae and Park Hae-soo in 'Squid Game'

The magazine also polled the actors, including HoYeon Jung and Park Hae-soo, about what they hope to see in Squid Game's future, despite the apparent deaths of their characters, Kang Sae-byeok and Cho Sang-woo, respectively.

"I just want Gi-hun to have a more happy life," HoYeon said, with Lee noting that he envisions the actress' character having a twin sister so that HoYeon can potentially continue working on the production, or that the game operatives took Sang-woo away to keep him alive before he actually died.

EW has reached out to Netflix for further comment on Squid Game season 2.

In January, Netflix's co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos said the series would "absolutely" return, and that "the Squid Game universe has just begun."

Squid Game debuted to massive success in September 2021, becoming the streamer's biggest series launch ever and the first Korean series to reach the No. 1 position on Netflix's top 10 titles in the United States. It went on to top the streaming giant's charts in all 94 countries where the company has a top 10 ranking.

In addition to critical and audience praise, Squid Game won three Screen Actors Guild Awards at the 2022 ceremony in February, including individual honors for Lee and HoYeon as well as a collective award for its stunt ensemble.

Hear more on all of today's must-see picks on EW's What to Watch podcast, hosted by Gerrad Hall.

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