'Squid Game' Decision for Season 2 and Season 3 Expected Soon

Squid Game mastermind Hwang Dong-hyuk is already in talks with Netflix about a third season, even before a second season is confirmed. The show was a massive success in the days after its international launch in September, and Hwang has hinted at a second season before. In a new interview with Korean broadcaster KBS though, the writer, director, and creator mentioned the possibility of a third season for the first time.

"I'm in talks with Netflix over Season 2 as well as Season 3," Hwang said Tuesday, reports the Yonhap news agency. "We will come to a conclusion any time soon." The next season will focus on Seong Gi-hun, the final winner in the first season played by Lee Jung-jae.

During a screening to celebrate the show in Los Angeles in November, Hwang told the Associated Press there had been "so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season" that he almost feels forced to make one. "But I will say there will indeed be a second season. It's in my head right now. I'm in the planning process currently," he said at the time. "I do think it's too early to say when and how that's going to happen. So I will promise you this, Gi-hun will come back. He will do something for the world."

Hwang does have ideas for where Gi-hun will go in Season 2. During a virtual Screen Actors Guild panel with Entertainment Weekly earlier this month, Hwang said Gi-hun will be put through tougher tests that will force him to lean on the bloody and traumatic experiences he had in Season 1. If Gi-hun isn't careful, he could become a villain, like Lee Byung-hun's Front Man, a previous Squid Game winner who oversaw the cruel games. "Some end up Jedi and some become Darth Vader, right? I think that maybe Gi-hun will go through a certain critical point where he is put through a test as well," Hwang teased.

Squid Game Season 1 was released on Sept. 17 and has become Netflix's most-watched series, beating out Bridgerton. It was the most-viewed show in 94 countries and reached 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first month. The first season is only nine episodes, so it's easy to see why Netflix would want more.

The series centers on a group of people in deep financial straits who are invited to play deadly children's games for a chance to win ₩45.6 billion (about $38 million). They soon learn that losing the games mean certain death, and the deaths of other players add ₩100 million to the prize. The main cast also includes Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, HoYeon Jung, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, and Kim Joo-ryoung.