The first season of "Squid Game" came out of nowhere in 2021 to become the most-watched series in Netflix history; will "Squid Game" season 2 break that record when it arrives later this year?
Although Korean shows have been consistently popular on Netflix, "Squid Game" achieved international success on a whole other level, surpassing the viewership of some of the best Netflix shows such as "Stranger Things" and "Bridgerton." A show that popular warrants another season, even if creator Hwang Dong-hyuk never envisioned the show lasting beyond its initial nine episodes.
With Hwang onboard once again as writer and director, Netflix officially announced the second season of "Squid Game" in June 2022. Two years on, viewers have seen real-world contestants face the Game in the Netflix reality show, "Squid Game: The Challenge,", but we're finally returning to the show's world later this year.
Plot details are still mostly shrouded in mystery, though returning star Lee Jung-jae has dropped a few hints about what's to come in "Squid Game" season 2, and we've finally got a release date and the show's future has been revealed in a big new update.
As the premiere draws closer, here's everything we know so far about "Squid Game" season 2.
'Squid Game' season 2 release date
On August 1, Netflix revealed that "Squid Game" season 2 would drop on Thursday, December 26, 2024.
Previously, we only knew the series would air at some point in 2024, though we weren't too surprised by this announcement. After all, lead star Lee Jung-jae had told Business Insider that the series would debut in December 2024 earlier in the year.
❌⭕️❌⭕️Squid Game Season 2 December 26 Squid Game Final Season 2025 pic.twitter.com/pLtp0mkZLAAugust 1, 2024
'Squid Game' season 2 cast
The cast for "Squid Game" season 2 is set to feature a mix of new and returning characters, as another round of violent versions of children's games gets underway. Breakout star Lee Jung-jae, who's also starring in the new Star Wars series "The Acolyte," is set to return as Seong Gi-hun, the protagonist of the first season and ultimate winner of the deadly competition.
Other cast members set to return include Lee Byung-hun as the sinister leader of the Game, known as the Front Man, and Gong Yoo as the unnamed salesman who finds players to join the Game. Wi Ha-joon will also return as undercover police officer Hwang Jun-ho.
Netflix has also announced an extensive list of new cast members, although info about their characters has not yet been revealed. Here's who will be joining "Squid Game" for its second season.
- Park Gyu-young ("Sweet Home")
- Jo Yu-ri (singer/actor, former member of South Korean-Japanese girl group Iz*One)
- Kang Ae-sim ("Be Melodramatic," "Move to Heaven")
- Lee David ("The Fortress")
- Lee Jin-uk ("Sweet Home," "Miss Granny")
- Choi Seung-hyun (singer/actor, "Tazza: The Hidden Card," "Commitment")
- Roh Jae-won ("Missing Yoon," "Ditto")
- Won Ji-an ("D.P.," "Heartbeat")
- Yim Si-wan (member of South Korean boy band ZE:A)
- Kang Ha-neul ("the Heirs)
- Park Sung-hoon ("The Glory")
- Yang Dong-geun ("Moving")
'Squid Game' season 2 plot
Along with the release date and a new teaser for the show (more on that in just a second), Netflix has released a proper plot synopsis for "Squid Game" season 2. As suspected, it sees Seong Gi-hun continuing to try and bring an end to the deadly games.
It reads: "Three years after winning Squid Game, Player 456 remains determined to find the people behind the game and put an end to their vicious sport. Using this fortune to fund his search, Seong Gi-hun starts with the most obvious of places: look for the main in a sharp suit playing ddakji in the subway. But when his efforts finally yield results, the path toward taking down the organization proves to be deadlier than he imagined: to end the game, he needs to re-enter it."
While speaking to RadioTimes.com Lee Jung-jae claimed the script for season 2 is 'even more interesting' than the first. He also said he believes this next chapter has 'an even deeper emotion that's discovered within', and notes that the new season is full of twists and turns. Cryptic, but it suggests this new season will be just as gripping as the first.
Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, who's set to write and direct every episode, told The Playlist that there are 'even better games' on the way. He's also referenced the possibility of bringing back characters who died in the first season, so it's possible that season 2 will incorporate flashbacks or surprise twists on the events of the first season. One thing that Hwang won't do is simply rehash the same plot with a new set of characters.
Is there a 'Squid Game' season 2 trailer?
Yep! Our first teaser for the new series came in the form of a "Squid Game" season 2 release date announcement trailer. The teaser shows us a track meet gone wrong: runners sporting the iconic green tracksuits are running down a track, though more and more of them start to tumble to the ground before we're passed over to the Front Man and his team of game-makers, who ask if we're ready to play again.
What's more, the teaser also confirms that "Squid Game" season 2 won't be the end of the story, as it confirms "Squid Game" season 3 will be coming our way in 2025.
On August 11, Netflix dropped another short teaser, one which teases our new competitors, each of whom have been assigned their numbers and donned their tracksuits. And in a suitably dramatic moment, Gi-hun (#456) spin around and stares down the lens. Now that he knows what he's up against in the games, it certainly looks like he's returning as a fiercer character than before.
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