The highly anticipated second season of Squid Game is nearing completion, according to creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, with the entire series perhaps arriving by the end of 2023.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair published Wednesday, the director and writer of Netflix’s global blockbuster put up a possible release date for the streaming series’ sophomore run, pointing to late 2023 or somewhere in 2024. “Those games are going to put humanity to the test once again,” Hwang said of the show’s return.
During the conversation, the Squid Game creator — who, according to writer and author R.O. Kwon, “only has around three pages worth of ideas that he hopes to make into a script” — also discussed how the upcoming season would differ thematically from its predecessor.
When asked if the outcome of season one could have been different if players were less “focused on wanting to kill each other off,” Hwang said, “I do agree that there could have been a possibility that we could have seen more winners if they were capable of talking to one another, of cooperating with one another.”
During season one, the writer-director left the possibility of players collaborating to survive the games as a group open to interpretation. “I want to address the issue, ‘Is true solidarity between people possible?'” Hwang says in the next round of episodes.
Hwang previously expressed some ideas for new topics he’d want to explore through “some other stories in the series that have not been handled” in season one in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. That includes the Front Man narrative, though Vanity Fair said that one was still a “maybe” at the time.
“Take, for example, the story of the police officer and his brother, the Front Man.” So, if I end up making a second season, I’d like to investigate that topic — what’s going on between those two brothers?” he remarked. “And then I could tell you about that recruiter in the suit who plays ddakji with Gi-hun and gives him the card in the first episode.”
“Of course, we could proceed with Gi-story hun’s as he turns back and explore more about how he’s going to handle his reckoning with the guys designing the games,” he added. “So, I don’t know yet, but I’ll just say there are a lot of options for season two plots out there.”
Season 2 of Netflix’s Squid Game to premiere in 2023?
Hwang Dong-hyuk also noted how the first season could have had more than one winner if participants had been less concentrated on killing each other. “I agree that if they were capable of communicating to one another and cooperating with one another, I believe we could have seen more winners,” Hwang added.
While Gi-hun has been confirmed to return, Hwang has also claimed that the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) in charge of the games will play a larger role. “I want to explore the issue, ‘Is true solidarity between humans possible?” he continued.