Squid Game Season 2, which has already received a 2025 Golden Globes nomination for Best Television Series - Drama, is approaching fast, coming years after its record-breaking success in 2021 on Netflix (one of the best streaming services to subscribe to). Prepare for the second round of creator Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Emmy-winning South Korean import – following the participants of a series of twisted reinventions of playground games for an unimaginable prize – with this guide to everything we know so far.
What Is The Squid Game Season 2 Premiere Date?
Fans will be able to stream Squid Game Season 2 when it premieres on December 26, 2024. The upcoming 2024 Netflix TV show will surely be an exciting holiday gift for those who have eagerly awaited the series' return.
The Squid Game 2 Trailer Sees Gi-hun Get Back In The Game
The first official teaser for Squid Game Season 2, while chilling, did not offer much of a sneak peek of what to expect. Luckily, the latest trailer plunges you right into the insanity. Take a look for yourself:
After starting off in familiar territory by showing the latest batch of players discovering how seriously these people take the rules of Red Light, Green Light, we catch glimpses of the deadly circumstances that follow. The real selling point, however, is Seong Gi-hun (identified as Player 456 once again) desperately pleading the fellow participants to stop, based on what he knows from the last time he was there.
Squid Game Season 2 Cast Includes Familiar And Fresh Faces
A great deal of the actors from the Squid Game Season 1 cast will not be returning for obvious reasons, leaving room for a new collection of contestants to participate. However, the Squid Game Season 2 cast also includes a few returning favorites. Let’s talk about them one by one below.
Lee Jung-jae (Seong Gi-hun)
The core focus of Squid Game Season 1 was the 456th player: Seong Gi-hun — played by Lee Jung-jae, who won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance. Probably coming as no surprise to fans, Lee is reprising the role of the compulsive gambler and divorced father who takes on a new personality due to the trauma he has witnessed in Season 2, as THR reports.
Lee Byung-hun (Front Man)
One of the most shocking moments from Season 1 was the discovery that the games’ “Front Man” was the long-lost brother of police officer Hwang Jun-ho. Also known as Hwang In-ho, the role will be reprised in Season 2 by Lee Byung-hun – an A-lister in South Korea known for Korean horror movie favorite I Saw the Devil and Antoine Fuqua’s 2016 The Magnificent Seven remake, for instance.
Wi Ha-joon (Hwang Jun-ho)
Based on the news that Wi Ha-joon is returning for Season 2, it appears that either Hwang Jun-ho did survive that gunshot that sent him falling into the ocean at the hands of his brother, or perhaps we will be seeing him return in flashbacks. The actor also stars in another Netflix-exclusive Korean series called GyeongSeong Creature.
Gong Yoo (Recruiter)
We can also expect to see Gong Yoo — the star of the masterful Asian horror movie, 2016’s Train to Busan — as “The Recruiter,” who helps find contestants to participate in the Squid Game.
Park Gyu-young
One of the most notable newcomers to the Squid Game cast is Park Gyu-young, who is already known for a few other Netflix-exclusive Korean TV shows. For instance, she recently starred in a limited series called Celebrity and, before then, had a main role in a TV show about monsters on Netflix called Sweet Home.
Other Confirmed Squid Game Season 2 Cast Member
Other new members of the ensemble — who gathered for a Season 2 table read in June 2023, according to Tudum — include musician Yim Si-wan (known for the 2023 Netflix movie, Unlocked), The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure star Kang Ha-neul, and Park Sung-hoon from the acclaimed found footage thriller, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. Jo Yu-ri (member of girl group Iz*One who made her acting debut in the 2022 miniseries, Mimicus) also has a role, alongside Yang Dong-geun from Yaksha: Ruthless Operations, Kang Ae-sim (known for Extraordinary Attorney Woo), and Lee David (whose only other credit is the 2017 horror movie Gremlin).
Also expect to see Lee Jin-uk (another star of the Netflix horror TV show, Sweet Home); Choi Seung-hyun from the rap group, Big Bang; Roh Jae-won from the 2022 comedy, Missing Yoon; and Won Ji-an of Netflix’s D.P. fame. Details about the Squid Game Season 2 cast members’ characters have yet to be revealed.
What Squid Game Season 2 Is About
The ending of Squid Game Season 1 saw Seong Gi-hun leaving behind the chance to see his daughter in the United States in favor of taking down the organization behind the challenges. Fans could infer from this ending that Squid Game Season 2 could be about vengeance and Lee Jung-jae’s words to All K-Pop in the following excerpt reflect that:
As we all saw at the end of season 1, the main plot of season 2 will be revenge, and the key figure who controlled the workings of the games in season 1 was Lee Byung Hun sunbae, so it seems that the two of us will be the central figures of this next story.
So, it looks like we are in for a challenge of a whole new level this time: an epic showdown between the main hero and main villain of the series’ first season. That is as far as we know about the plot of Squid Game Season 2, but it is already enough to get fans excited.
Hwang Dong-hyuk Returns as Writer, Director, And Producer
The creator of Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk, is returning to produce, write, and helm Season 2. The filmmaker’s frequent collaborator, Kim Ji-yeon – not to be confused with the South Korean actor and singer of the same name – is also returning as executive producer.
Dong-hyuk had previously collaborated with Squid Game cast members like Gong Yoo in his 2011 drama Silenced and Lee Byung-hun in his 2017 period epic, The Fortress. Of course, this series is his greatest success yet, earning him international acclaim and a Primetime Emmy for directing the pilot episode.
Will There Be A Squid Game Season 3?
When Squid Game Season 2 finally premieres on Netflix, it will not be the last we see of this dark, engrossing story. According to Variety, the series has been renewed for a third season, which will also be its last. Hwang told THR in November 2024 that Squid Game Season 3 is currently being edited.
According to a behind-the-scenes clip released by Netflix, when Hwang first conceived the idea for Squid Game, he envisioned it as a feature film, but was turned down by several major studios who deemed the material “unrealistic.” However, a decade later, Squid Game's themes of financial hardship and desperation became much more relevant and believable, leading it to become greenlit as a series for Netflix.
How To Watch Squid Game
As established, Squid Game Season 2 will be exclusively available to stream with a Netflix subscription when it premieres. That is also how you can relive the best episodes of Squid Game Season 1.
We are ever-so intrigued by what bloody, merciless challenges we are bound to see on Squid Game Season 2.
