When Squid Game debuted on Netflix in 2021, it quickly became a worldwide sensation. This South Korean series, a brutal and bloody satire on class warfare, with a premise reminiscent of Parasite and Battle Royale, was created by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The show, where childhood games serve as the foundation for a deadly competition with a life-altering cash prize, remains Netflix's most-watched series to date. Now, as Lee Jung-jae's character, Prisoner 456, prepares to return to the arena in Squid Game Season 2, which premieres this Boxing Day, the big question is: How do you follow up on the biggest show on Netflix?
Showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk, speaking exclusively to Empire for our Andor Season 2 issue, acknowledges the pressure he's felt in crafting this sequel. "I try not to dwell on it," he says, expressing confidence in the new season's potential. "I believe Season 2 tells a deeper, more advanced story," Hwang explains, having recently announced that the show will conclude with a third and final season next year. "I feel it could even surpass Season 1. But physically and mentally, it was incredibly challenging. Some of the sequences we shot were the most difficult of my entire career. It was... hell."
If creating Squid Game's second season was a hellish experience, it's because the series continues to mirror the worsening world it was born into. "It's not getting better out there — it's getting worse," Hwang notes. "Worse climate change, more wars, more people dying. Compare the world in 2021 to now — our lives are not improving. You know that!" This means that if you found the first season intense, you haven't seen anything yet. "I even had concerns because the story in the second season is much crueler, scarier, and more gruesome than the first," Hwang shares. "Honestly, I thought, 'Is this too much for people to handle?'" Crueler, scarier, and more gruesome? We can handle it, Hwang — let the games begin.
Read Empire's full story on Squid Game Season 2, featuring exclusive interviews with Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, and Wi Ha-joon, in the January 2025 issue, available on Thursday, November 21. Pre-order your copy online here. Squid Game Season 2 premieres on Netflix on December 26.
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