To the surprise of almost nobody, Squid Game season 2 was confirmed as happening by Netflix earlier this year. It's already been announced that protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) will return, but it appears that some other familiar faces could join him in his quest to find those responsible for running the deadly games. Well, sort of…
Like all good battle royales, Squid Game ended up with just a single player left standing. In this case, Gi-hun, but we may not have seen the last of popular characters Kang Sae-byeok (HoYeon Jung) and Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo). Or at least we could see the actors who play them make a return in some quite surprising ways.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk opened up about the reaction to the show’s first season and dropped a few tantalizing hints at what could come next. And it's here that we got a curious indication that it might not just be Lee returning.
When asked what he wants to see in Squid Game season 2, Lee explained that he hopes (and these are Vanity Fair's words) that "Sae-byeok has a twin sister, and that Sang-woo has actually been whisked away by the game operatives in time to keep him alive.” And that these, slightly illogical, twists can happen so he can work with Hoyeon and Park again. Clearly, it wasn’t just the characters who were deeply bonded by the Squid Game experience.
Now, it should be noted that Hwang Dong-hyuk didn't comment on the possibility of Hoyeon or Park returning, either as the same character or as new ones. However, Lee has plenty of time to convince him to write them into Squid Game season 2 as currently Hwang “only has about three pages’ worth of ideas” that will be eventually turned into a script.
In the same interview, Hwang confirms that Squid Game season 2 will feature more games and also teased that the mysterious Front Man from the first season could play a larger role. As for when the second season is likely to hit Netflix, Hwang is still in discussion with the streamer but anticipates it could drop by the end of 2023 or sometime in 2024.
Netflix is likely keen to get the ball rolling on Squid Game season 2 as soon as possible. Squid Game pulled record-breaking numbers when it debuted last year, and quickly became the most-watched Netlflix original in history. At the time of its renewal, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said: “The Squid Game universe has just begun.” So don’t be surprised if Squid Game is a mainstay on Netflix for years to come.
