I cannot imagine anything more horrifying than taking on the challenges from Squid Game, which the characters faced for the slim chance of winning unimaginable riches. That being said — and I say this with absolutely zero intention of undermining the deadly nature of those twisted reinventions of playground games — that the challenge of waiting for Squid Game Season 2 has not been too easy either.
Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the Emmy-winning South Korean import was a huge, record-breaking success for Netflix when it premiered in 2021, pretty much ensuring that another round of death-defying contests was imminent. Eventually Squid Game Season 2 would be confirmed, so let’s talk about everything we know so far.
What Is The Squid Game Season 2 Premiere Date?
At the moment, there is no telling exactly when fans with a Netflix subscription will be able to stream Squid Game Season 2, because there is no confirmed premiere date. However, we do know that it is set to premiere in 2024, based on its inclusion in a video promoting Netflix’s upcoming 2024 movies and TV shows. The platform would confirm in April during a Q1 earnings interview that the new chapter will drop in the later part of the year.
Netflix’s 2024 Preview Promo Teases Squid Game Season 2
It could be some time before we get an official trailer for Squid Game Season 2 as well. Luckily, we did get some form of a tease in Netflix’s 2024 preview promo. Check out the video below to see it for yourself:
The chilling footage near the end of the promo suggests that the next season will pick up immediately after the ending of Squid Game Season 1. We see a still pink-haired Seong Gi-hun, at the same airport he was about to leave for Los Angeles, receiving a call that he will regret choosing not to leave and retaliating with a threat that he will exact vengeance on the makers of the competition by any means necessary. It appears that Season 2 is introducing a side of Gi-hun we have not seen before.
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 does include 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 in the next season.
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 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 his brother's gunshot that sent him falling into the ocean 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 2016' masterful Asian horror movie, 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 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.
A Central Theme Of Squid Game Season 2 Is Revenge
The very end of the Squid Game Season 1 finale 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 may not be the last we see of this dark, engrossing story. According to Korea Times, Hwang Dong-hyuk has talked with the platform about following it up with a third season, but nothing has been formally announced yet.
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.
We are ever-so intrigued by what bloody, merciless challenges we are bound to see on Squid Game Season 2.
