After Much Demand, There Will Be a Season 2 of 'Squid Game

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 1 of Squid Game.

Already hailed as South Korea's answer to The Hunger Games, Netflix's drama series Squid Game captures the trials and tribulations of 456 cursed souls who decide to risk their lives to win ₩45.6 billion ($39 million). The contestants include Seong Gi-hun, a gambling addict; Ali, a migrant worker; and many other characters. So, will there be a Season 2 of Squid Game?

The inaugural season of Squid Game revolves around a particularly cruel game series designed to butt a crowd of nearly 500 contestants against each other. As to the stakes? The winner is to take home a handsome amount of money, while the losers risk dying on the spot. So, how does the series end? Will there be a Season 2 of Squid Game?

Season 1 of Squid Game premiered on Netflix on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, and it didn't take long for it to rocket to the top of Netflix's charts, maintaining the top spot for four weeks straight as people binge-watched the nearly nine-hour first season. The finale ends on a cliffhanger, which suggests that the horrific games could continue later down the line.

The inaugural season of the drama features stars like Lee Jung-jae, HoYeon Jung, and Yuuki Luna. Should Netflix renew Squid Game for another season, it would feature many new faces, as most of the original cast were killed off in the games.

"I wanted to create a sense of connection between the nostalgic games we played in our childhood and the sense of never-ending competition that modern adults feel," said director Hwang Dong-hyuk, per NME.

According to reports, it took him about 10 years to develop Squid Game before it found its home with Netflix.

Despite initially turning down the idea, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed to the Associated Press that there would, in fact, be a second season.

“There’s been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season. So I almost feel like you leave us no choice!” he said. “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. But I do think it’s too early to say when and how that’s going to happen.”

There's no news as to what the plot of this new season could look like just yet, though the director did confirm that Gi-hun's character would return as the lead.

“I will promise you this, Gi-hun will come back,” he confirmed. “He will do something for the world.”

Squid Game plunges nearly 500 people into a horrible predicament, forcing them to choose between dying an excruciatingly painful death or watching their fellow contestants lose their lives in the manic quest for survival.

Season 1, Episode 9 captures the battle of the last two contestants standing, Sang-Woo (Park Hae-soo) and Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). At the end of the game, Gi-hun comes close to winning, but refuses to kill Sang-woo. Sang-woo asks Gi-hun to take care of his loved ones before committing suicide.

Gi-hun is crowned as the winner. After leaving the game, he learns his mother has died — and he spends the next year grappling with grief. Gi-hun asks Sang-woo's mom to look after another deceased player's (Kang Sae-byeok) brother. What's more, he gives her a share of the prize money. In a surprising twist, Gi-hun also learns that one of the fellow game players, Oh Il-nam, was the mastermind behind the games.

On his way to Los Angeles to see his daughter, Gi-hun spots a gentleman at the airport playing with a man — and he snatches up the card he hands over to him. Gi-hun calls the number, only for the game administrator, Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), to pick up. Gi-hun decides not to board the flight, instead turning around, presumably to go after the game's creators, before the final credits roll.

Season 1 of Squid Game is available on Netflix now.