Netflix Officially Announces ‘Squid Game’ Season 2

The following contains spoilers for season 1 of Squid Game.

By word of mouth—by word of horrified, perplexed, agape mouth—Squid Game became one of the most successful Netflix series in the company's history. It features the kind of class-conscious survival horror we’ve come to love over the past few years (see: Snowpiercer, Us, Parasite, Kingdom).

Squid Game director Hwang Dong-hyuk, has said he began writing his own story long before many of these properties. Hwang explains how he first developed the idea for the hit Netflix series:

The genre has of course become more familiar (and probably more marketable). And because cruelty is entertainment, Squid Game found a loving home on Netflix.

But since Hwang’s world expands beyond this single year of survival competition—the games have been going on in this fictional hellspace for decades—there’s plenty left to explore after season 1.

Here’s what we know about a potential season 2 of Squid Game.

Will there be a Squid Game season 2?

Just this week, Netflix made the official announcement: Squid Game will return for Season 2. The streaming site posted a video of Young-hee’s (the giant doll) eye recording the viewer. A countdown then began.

Netflix also posted a message from Hwang, which teased some potential plotlines in the new series.

“And now, Gi-hun returns. The Front Man returns. Season 2 is coming. The man in the suit with ddakji might be back. You’d also be introduced to Young-hee’s boyfriend, Cheol-su.”

Even before the official announcement, Hwang has been anticipating another season. In an interview with the Associated Press in Los Angeles, Hwang explained the impetus. “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!”

In an interview with The Times, Hwang teased ideas he has for future seasons of the show. “One [idea] would be the story of the Front Man,” Hwang explained.

The Front Man was revealed to be a former participant and winner of the games. His actual identity: the missing brother of Seoul detective Hwang Jun-ho.

In a separate interview, Wi Ha-joon, who plays Hwang, said he hoped director Hwang would fold his character back into the action. (The detective was shot toward the end of the season and shown falling from a cliff into the ocean; his fate, however, is never shown.) “My hope is that season two comes out, Jun Ho returns alive, and the story with Jun Ho’s brother is resolved well,” Wi said.

Hwang went on to explain why the focus on the Front Man (and, we assume, a resurrected detective Hwang) would be important for future seasons: “I think the issue with police officers is not just an issue in Korea. I see it on the global news. This was an issue that I wanted to raise. Maybe in season two I can talk about this more.”

From wealth inequality (season 1) to issues of law enforcement (season 2?) Squid Game will be taking on one global issue at a time.

When can we expect Squid Game season 2?

Though the script was finished in 2009, the series reportedly didn’t begin filming until September 2020. And production was... big. The team filmed on an actual set, using many practical effects, including the giant doll in the first episode. They also cast 456 actors to play the incoming class of contestants.

We can expect even bigger productions for Season 2—though, hopefully this time with a faster pipeline. If filming can begin later this year or early 2022, we may be able to get a late fall 2022 release.

Fingers crossed.

What will season 2 of Squid Game be about?

At the end of the first season, we learn several things about the games. The first is that the games have been going on for over a decade and that the Front Man is a former winner of the games—and brother to detective Hwang Jun-ho. We also learned the games were first designed by Oh Il-nam (Number 0001) alongside several rich friends as a means of enjoying their fortunes.

In the final episode, Seong Gi-hun (0456) learns this latter truth and, after obtaining a card for the next year’s game, decides to confront the organization responsible.

Any future season of the show could take us forward or backward in time—forward to the continued pursuit to bring down the organization responsible, or backward to the origin and first years of the game.

Lingering questions include how the guards are selected and with whom else the VIPs are connected.

There is also the loose thread of detective Hwang who may have survived the shooting.

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