Squid Game Creator Drops Hints At What's Coming In Season 2

Since its debut on Netflix last September, Korean drama "Squid Game" has been breaking ground. In November 2021, it became Netflix's most-watched show ever, with 1.65 billion hours of viewing in its first 28 days on the streaming service (per Variety). That's 2.6 times what "Bridgerton," which dropped into second place, brought in during its first season. Last month, "Squid Game" made history again by garnering 14 Emmy nominations. It also became the first-ever non-English show to receive an Emmy nomination for outstanding drama (per Variety). 

Speculation about a sequel season began, of course, almost instantly. And fans were gratified in November when show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk told the Associated Press that the show would have a second season. Netflix confirmed the news in January (via Variety). Then, in June, Netflix made it official to the public through a very short teaser, also releasing a message from Hwang that read, in part, "And now, Gi-hun returns. The Front Man returns. Season 2 is coming. The man in the suit with ddakji may return. You'll also be introduced to Young-hee's boyfriend, Cheol-su."

Since then, anticipation has been high — but viewers are now getting more hints at what they might actually see when the show returns.

In a new interview with Deadline, Hwang said that "Squid Game" was always meant to be expanded. The show's creator said, "That was actually part of my intentions from the outset. I wrote the script in a way to hint that the Squid Game was happening in other parts of the world. As you can see from the conversations that the VIPs are having, they say the Korean game this year is spectacular, which means that there are other games as well."

But will fans actually get to see more Squid Games from different countries? It's unclear. Hwang told The Hollywood Reporter that fans can expect a continuation of the story they already know and love. "The philosophies I put in season one all naturally extend to season two. Instead of trying to meet the expectations of viewers, I just thought about the last moment when Gi-hun turned away from boarding the plane, and I thought about what he will do next," he said, saying that Gi-hun became a totally different character by the end of the first season, and the second season will explore his new outlook and actions.

However, with Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos having given the series a vote of confidence ("The 'Squid Game' universe has just begun," he said in January), and Netflix also creating a reality version of "Squid Game," it's clear there may be more opportunities in the future to explore these other game iterations. 

Hwang told THR that his script for season two is due at the end of 2022 or early 2023; he also speculated in June's Vanity Fair that the sequel season could be out by the end of 2023. Perhaps fans will expect to find out for sure then.