If you’re catching up with the wildly popular and deadly Netflix series, you might be wondering when is Squid Game season 2’s release date.
The South Korean drama series was created by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The show features a group of 456 cash-strapped citizens who are lured into a deadly competition in hopes of winning a massive prize of 45.6 billion won (or 38.7 million US dollars.) The games include school games like Red Light, Green Light, dalgona cookie cutters, and marbles. However when lost, competitors are killed by the ominous pink suit guards.
Related: Who won Squid Game: The Challenge?
The show became instantly viral online. On October 13, 2021, Netflix announced that the show was officially its most-watched original series, overtaking the previous record held by 2020’s Shonda Rhimes-produced hit, Bridgerton. The hit show resulted in real-life spinoffs (minus the death part) by Youtuber Mr. Beast and a hit Netflix reality show based on the games. Let’s take a look at everything we know about Squid Game season 2 so far.
Netflix confirmed that the Squid Game season 2 release date is on December 26, 2024, while the third season will premiere in 2025.
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk posted a letter to fans and confirmed that the series will end with the third season. He wrote, “I am thrilled to see the seed that was planted in creating a new Squid Game grow and bear fruit through the end of this story.”
Will there be a Squid Game season 2? Netflix officially confirmed Squid Game Season 2 in June 2022.
In a tweet, creator, director, and writer of the series Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote “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 series ever.” He continued, “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. And now, Gi-hun returns. The front man returns. Season 2 is coming. The man in the suit with ddakji might be back. You’ll also be introduced to Young-hee’s boyfriend Cheol-su. Join us once more for a whole new round.” Young-hee refers to the doll that appears during the Red Light, Green Light segment.
If you don’t remember what happened at the end of season 1, Gi-hun prepares to board a plane to Los Angeles to reunite with his daughter, but decides at the last minute not to go to the States. Instead, he makes a call and tells the person on the other end of the line that he is going to track them down. The implication seems to be that Gi-hun will return for Squid Game season 2 to avenge the deaths of his fellow competitors.
According to director Hwang, he originally intended this moment to be one of closure—but there is potential to take it further. “It’s true that season one ended in an open-ended way, but I actually thought that this could be good closure for the whole story too,” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Season one ends with Gi-hun turning back and not getting on the plane to the States. And that was, in fact, my way of communicating the message that you should not be dragged along by the competitive flow of society, but that you should start thinking about who has created the whole system—and whether there is some potential for you to turn back and face it.”
“So it’s not necessarily Gi-hun turning back to get revenge,” Hwang added. “It could actually be interpreted as him making a very on the spot eye contact with what is truly going on in the bigger picture. So I thought that might be a good simple, but ambiguous, way to end the story for Gi-hun.”
Squid Game’s director did admit, however, that “there are some other stories in the series that have not been addressed” in season 1. “For example, the story of the police officer and the story of his brother, The Front Man,” he told THR. “So if I end up creating season two, I’d like to explore that storyline—what is going on between those two brothers?”
Hwang also expressed an interest in “the story of that recruiter in the suit who plays the game of ddakji with Gi-hun and gives him the card in the first episode,” along with Gi-hun’s cryptic ending. “Of course, we could go with Gi-hun’s story as he turns back, and explore more about how he’s going to navigate through his reckoning with the people who are designing the games,” Hwang said.
Who is in the Squid Game season 2 cast? Returning from Season 1, the Squid Game season 2 cast includes Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-Hun, Wi Ha-joon, and Gong Yoo.
Netflix announced the first round of new cast members at their global Tudum fan event in São Paulo, Brazil. The first round of castmembers includes Yim Siwan (formerly of K-Pop group ZE:A and known for film roles like The Attorney and Emergency Declaration), Kang Ha Neul (from K-dramas like Midnight Runners, When the Camellia Blooms), Park Sung Hoon (Netflix’s Korean hit The Glory) and Yang Dong Geun (from Disney+’s popular K-drama Connect).
The second round of castmembers includes Kang Ae-sim (Be Melodramatic, Move to Heaven), Lee David (The Fortress), Lee Jin-uk (Sweet Home), Choi Seung-hyun (also known as the rapper T.O.P., formerly of K-Pop group BIGBANG, and starred in Tazza: The Hidden), Roh Jae-won (Missing Yoon) and Won Ji-an (D.P.).
According to Netflix, the cast members gathered for the first table read of Season 2 on June 28, 2023.
