Squid Game creator suggests a 'Jedi' or 'Darth Vader' journey to come in Season 2

While fans of Netflix’s enormously popular Korean drama Squid Game await a second season, creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk continues to be tantalizingly coy about what’s in store for the show’s future, particularly its hero, Seong Gi-hun, aka Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae). And one thing he’s currently teasing is whether his experiences in the game will cause Gi-hun to break bad in Season 2. After all, the guy's been through a lot.

The first season ended with Gi-hun opting to seek revenge on the masterminds behind the deadly game over reuniting with his daughter. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly during a virtual SAG panel, Hwang suggested that Gi-hun could be put through an even greater test going forward. He was of course careful not to be too detailed. 

"I'm not really in the right place to be discussing Season 2 in an official setting, but if there were to be a Season 2, in the first season that we saw Gi-hun is a character whose humanity is shown through or exposed in certain situations," Hwang said via translator. "In other words, his humanity is shown through a very passive manner. But I would think that in the second season, what he has learned from the games and his experience in the first season, they will all be put to use in a more active manner." 

Photo: Noh Juhan/Netflix

Added Hwang: "And at the same time, as for the Front Man [Lee Byung-hun] who was also a past winner but became a Front Man, it's like Darth Vader. 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."

Following this statement, Lee, on the same virtual panel, joked: "If I had to be a Front Man, I would be the most scary Front Man you would ever see," while zooming into the camera for dramatic (well, really, comedic) effect.

This is after Hwang provided Deadline with a non-answer answer to a popular fan theory whether player 001, aka Oh Il-nam (Oh Yeong-su), may be be Gi-hun’s father. His (non) response? “[T]here was a rumor that the character Il-nam knew that he was his son, but Gi-hun was unaware of it, so that was the rumor that was going around. That’s my answer, I’m just gonna keep it to myself.” Gee, thanks, Hwang. Very elucidating.

To be fair, he’s right not to reveal much of anything at this stage of the (ahem) game. In fact, considering Netflix only just greenlit a second season (according to Hwang), the continuing story for Squid Game going forward is no doubt in its early stages. 

The show managed to garner record views for the streaming giant, which made Park Hae-soo, who played Cho Sang-woo, a.k.a. Player 218, very proud. On the same panel, Park noted: "the fact that we created a uniquely Korean story, with a very Korean subject matter, with all Korean creators — the crew, the staff, and the wonderful cast. The fact that something we prepared for a long time and showcased to the world in the Korean language and filled with Korean culture, the fact that this was loved by so many around the world and so many people related to it, that was something I'm really proud of."  

Season 1 of Squid Game is available to stream on Netflix.