Squid Game‘s Cliffhanger Teases an Even More Deadly Game in Season 3—& A Terrifying New Character

When does Squid Game Season 3 come out?

“I am beyond excited to be writing this letter to announce the date for Season 2 and share the news of Season 3, the final season,” series director, writer, and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote in a letter to fans in August, confirming Season 2 would premiere in December and announcing that Season 3 would be coming in 2025. “The fierce clash between [Gi-hun and Front Man’s] two worlds will continue into the series finale with Season 3, which will be brought to you next year.” 

Though he didn’t explicitly say it in the letter it seems Season 2 and Season 3 were filmed back-to-back, which means Netflix can release Season 3 at any point in 2025. It is likely, however, that they will wait a bit and let fans enjoy Season 2.

“I am thrilled to see the seed that was planted in creating a new Squid Game grow and bear fruit the end of this story,” Hwang wrote. “We’ll do our best to make sure we bring you yet another thrill ride.” 

Who’s in the Squid Game Season 3 cast?

Considering this is Squid Game, a few characters have been killed off and we won’t see them next season. Those include Gong Yoo’s Salesman, who shot himself in the opening episodes. But perhaps the most shocking of them is Lee Seo-hwan’s Jung-bae (Player 390), who was shot and killed in the Season 2 finale. Considering there is still a continuing narrative and a lot of players left in the game, we can expect to see a lot of the cast reprise their roles in Season 3, including:

• Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun
• Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho
• Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho
• Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee (Player 222)
• Kang Ae-shim as Jang Geum-ja (Player 149)
• Park Gyu-young as No-eul
• Park Sung-hoon as Hyun-ju (Player 120)
• Yang Dong-geun as Park Yong-sik (Player 007)
• Chae Kook-hee as Seon-nyeo (Player 044)
• Im Si-wan as Lee Myung-gi (Player 333)
• Kang Ha-neul as Dae-ho (Player 388)
• Lee David as Min-su (Player 125)
• Roh Jae-won as Nam-gyu (Player 124)

What’s Squid Game Season 3 about?

Things were already pretty bad, but there’s no doubt that they could get even worse after the failed rebellion—particularly for Gi-hun. That is unless Jun-ho and his crew actually locate the island where the games are being held. For now, let’s expect a battle between Seong Gi-hun and the people in charge, starting with the Front Man.

Showrunner Hwang told Digital Spy: “If you look at seasons two and three from a larger perspective, it is a single story, but in the midst of it, there is this inflection point that sort of catapults the story into a different direction, which is going to be the ending of season two.” He confirmed to EW that it was originally one story. “I originally envisioned seasons 2 and 3 as a single story,” he said. “That’s how I wrote it. But in the process, it came out to be too many episodes. So I thought it’d be better to divide it into two.”

As we’ve already seen Season 2 ends with a big betrayal in the midst of an armed rebellion between Gi-hun and his allies and the people running Squid Game. Gi-hun’s best friend, Jung-bae, among others, ends up as collateral damage because Gi-hun doesn’t know that Young-il is actually Front Man. And, there’s a new, terrifying game awaiting the players, one that looks very much like Red Light, Green Light. Except it seems like there’s another doll awaiting them. “That’s actually a [sneak peek] of Cheol-su, who, like Young-hee, is a new giant doll that we’re going to be showcasing in season 3,” the creator/writer/director told Entertainment Weekly. “And that’s also a hint at the most exciting game in season 3 as well. So, while it hasn’t been shared yet, I hope everyone will be excited to meet Cheol-su and the new game.”

Hwang calls what’s next the “second chapter of Gi-hun and Front Man’s showdown.” And, the final one.