‘Squid Game’ Creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk Opens Up About Making Seasons 2 And 3

Hollywood & Entertainment‘Squid Game’ Creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk Opens Up Making Seasons 2 And 3ByRegina Kim, Contributor

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights

Regina Kim covers Korean and Asian American entertainment

For Squid Game creator, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, the show’s unprecedented success was unexpected—and so was the spect of doing multiple seasons

Despite the first season’s open ending—in which tagonist Seong Gi-hun is to board a plane but instead turns around and looks directly at the camera—Hwang says that it wasn’t done with a second season in mind. “Through Gi-hun, I wanted to have the audience think how the world that we in—the system that we in—isn’t something that we should just take for granted

We should face it directly, question it and think what we can do it. ” Hwang admits that at the time, he figured that if the series happened to do well and there was a strong demand for a second season, the story could pick up from the moment Gi-hun turns around. “But I wasn’t seriously considering that possibility, nor was I particularly eager to do it,” Hwang says in Korean. “Physically and mentally, making the first season was so exhausting, so I never thought I’d want to make another season,” he adds in English

Forbes‘Squid Game’ Star Lee Jung-Jae Talks Playing Gi-Hun And Parting With The ShowBy Regina KimLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 30: Hwang Dong-hyuk speaks during Netflix's FYSEE Squid Game Season 2

More Series and South Korean director Hwang Dong-hyuk (R) with the Emmy for Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series for "Squid Game" during the 74th Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, on September 12, 2022. (Photo by FREDERIC J

BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images What Director Hwang Considered While Making Squid Game Seasons 2 And 3 But as fate would have it, the unprecedented global success of Squid Game meant that the show would be renewed for another season

Hwang initially int to make only one more season but up writing 13 episodes in six months, so he decided to break them up into two separate seasons

Forbes‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Explained: 14 Things You Might Have MissedBy Regina Kim (L-R): Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun, and Oh Yeong-su as Oh Il-nam in Squid

More Game season 1Courtesy of Netflix His most important consideration while creating seasons 2 and 3 was showing Gi-hun’s transformation. “At the beginning of season 1, you see him as this very naïve, loser- character who’s below average on all fronts

But after joining the games and going through that experience, he learns a lesson, and by the end of season 1, he’s become a different person," Hwang explains. "So the main focus was, what is Gi-hun going to be capable of doing after he returns to the games

And as he recklessly attempts to stop the games, what kind of person will he become. " Hwang adds that he also wanted to explore the question that Oh Il-nam poses to Gi-hun in season 1: “Do you still believe in humanity. ” Hwang points out that "the most important theme for seasons 2 and 3 was showing what kind of answer Gi-hun arrives at by the end of his journey. ”Forbes‘Squid Game’ Star Lee Byung-Hun Reflects On Playing The Front ManBy Regina Kim Squid Game Director Admits He’s “Kind Of A Perfectionist” Because Hwang was given only six months to write 13 episodes, he felt the script was lacking in detail. “So all throughout pre-duction and duction, I kept revising the script

I'd come back from a shoot, get new ideas and then revise upcoming scenes accordingly,” he reveals

He up making a lot of changes to the story, including some substantial ones rewriting the season 3 finale and altering the fates of Nam-gyu and Min-su

Besides those examples, he admits, “It's hard to say exactly what stayed true from the beginning and which things changed, because so many details changed

I thought that was the only way I could create a script that was up to my standards. ”Director Hwang Dong-hyuk and Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game S1Courtesy of Netflix Listening to Director Hwang describe his creative cess and attention to detail, one can’t help but get the sense that he’s very meticulous and dedicated to his craft. “Would you say you’re a perfectionist. “I think I can say that,” he replies. “I’m usually a really lazy person—extremely lazy

But once I start something, I have to go all in and see it through to the end

I can’t let go of it, so I end up exhausting myself

In that sense, I’m kind of a perfectionist, and maybe that’s why it makes me lazier

Because I know how hard I'm going to be on myself when I start something, so I often don’t want to start at all,” he says with a laugh

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk in Squid Game S2 No Ju-han/Netflix Squid Game Casting Controversies Around T

P And Park Sung-Hoon Despite his somewhat perfectionist tendencies, not everything went according to plan

In particular, he s that he wasn’t quite prepared for the casting controversies that arose ahead of season 2

When Netflix announced that the cast for the second season would include South Korean rapper, actor and former BIGBANG member T

P (real name Choi Seung-hyun), many Koreans tested due to his past marijuana use (drug abuse is often treated as a serious crime in South Korea), though international fans largely seemed to support his casting

Choi Seung-hyun as Thanos in Squid Game S2 No Ju-han/Netflix "I expected some backlash around T

P, but the reaction from the media and the internet in Korea was even more negative than I had anticipated," Hwang says. "Since there’d been many previous cases of celebrities having been away from the public eye after smoking marijuana and then making a comeback, I thought it’d be okay for Choi Seung-hyun to resume acting, since enough time had passed

I was genuinely surprised by how much backlash there was. " But Hwang adds that public sentiment in Korea around T

P has imved since the release of season 2. "Fortunately, now that there are many people who really his character [Thanos], and Seung-hyun has also been able to put out a sincere apology through interviews and whatnot, I think the situation has been somewhat resolved. "Park Sung-hoon as Hyun-ju in Squid Game S3 No Ju-han/Netflix Meanwhile, the casting of cisgender male actor Park Sung-hoon as the transgender character Hyun-ju also sparked criticism, but mostly from international viewers. "When I first considered him for the role, I thought it was a natural choice because in Korea, there aren’t really any transgender actors available to play a transgender character

There’s literally only one person you see on TV in Korea who is openly trans," Hwang says. "But I know there was quite a bit of backlash that decision overseas, especially in Western countries where people may not fully understand the reality in Korea. " Hwang says that both he and Park did their best to explain the casting choice publicly and mentions a moment that gave him particular comfort. “One day, I saw this YouTube from an American transgender influencer who said that she was initially very concerned,” Hwang says. “But she said that after watching the show, she was extremely taken by the genuineness of Hyun-ju’s character and loved her

So that made me very happy and relieved to know that our intentions had really worked. ”INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MAY 31: Choi Seung-hyun aka T

P, Kang Ae-shim and Park Sung-hoon pose with

As for what’s next for the Squid Game franchise, Hwang laughs off the possibility of a fourth season. "No, not another season

Maybe a spinoff, if the opportunity comes up

I know many people out there are curious to know the backstory of many of these characters, so I do think a spinoff could be fun,” he says. “But it’s just something that I'm tossing around—nothing has been decided yet. ”NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 18: (L-R) Park Sung-hoon, Kang Ae-shim, Lee Jung-jae, Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee

At first, I was worried that people might not it

And then came the pressure of people liking it too much, and feeling I had to meet their expectations

It felt I was carrying a huge load on my shoulders for six years

And now that it’s gone, I feel a great sense of relief. " He quickly adds, “At the same time, this ject also gave me so many wonderful memories and allowed me to meet so many wonderful people

These were six of the most amazing years of my life, so I’m going to be sad to say goodbye to those moments

I’m just feeling a mix of a lot of different emotions. " Squid Game season 3 is now ing on Netflix

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - JUNE 09: Director Hwang Dong-Hyuk, actors Lee Jung-Jae, Lee Byung-Hun, Yim

More Si-Wan, Kang Ha-Neul, Wi Ha-Joon, Park Sung-Hoon, Lee Jin-Uk, Park Gyu-Young, Yang Dong-Geun, Chae Gook-Hee, Roh Jae-Won, Lee David, Kang Ae-Sim and Jo Yuri attend a press conference for Netflix's "Squid Game Season 3" at Seoul Dragon City on June 09, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/WireImage)WireImageForbes6 Kdramas To Watch On Netflix: ‘Our Unwritten Seoul,’ ‘Mercy For None’ And MoreBy Regina Kim Editorial StandardsRes & PermissionsLOADING PLAYER.