The time is almost upon us, folks: Squid Game returns for its third and final season later this month. The final season concludes the story of Gi-Hun, who won the games in season 1, returned to the games to enact revenge in season 2...and faces a final showdown in season 3.
The Korean survival drama is one of Netflix's most successful shows ever. Season 1 was a global phenomenon, smashing viewership records at every turn. So too was its second season, which aired not long ago in December 2024. Developing the show has come at a price for creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, however, with the stress and pressure having immense consequences for his health. Specifically, his teeth.
“I thought it was going to be okay, but this time I had to pull out two more teeth as well,” the creator recently told Entertainment Weekly. “I had to pull out about eight teeth in Season 1, and now I have two more out, and I haven’t put them back in yet. So I’m waiting for them.”
The tooth loss hasn't been as bad for season 3. The pressure might be higher than ever, but I guess he's used to it at this point, and he already had plans laid out. “I do already have the universe and the space that I have envisioned come to life, so in a sense, Season 2 and Season 3 was easier compared to Season 1,” he explained. “But the problem is that for Season 2 and Season 3, we had to shoot and write in one go. It was as if we were making one season, and we tried as best as we could to bring in Season 3 as fast as possible. So the total amount was much larger, and we had to shoot for around one year, so it was very physically demanding.”
Squid Game creator sees potential in one spinoff idea!
It's only natural that a show as successful as Squid Game will be developed into a Squid Game Universe. That's how things work nowadays. I mean, Netflix has already signed up director David Fincher to make an American version of the series. There's no release date for that project as of yet, but it could be a big deal when and if it ever comes out.
As for Hwang Dong-hyuk himself, there's one spinoff project that he has in mind. “If I make [a] spin off, it will be a story happening between Season 1 and 2,” he told IndieWire. “There [was] a three years gap between Season 1 and 2. So, I want to show what they did for those times.”
A couple of years' worth of games would have been held in that gap, with all-new contestants and games. A spinoff like this could also provide a way to explore existing characters too, such as the enigmatic Front Man.
Before any spinoff happens, first we must bear witness to Squid Game season 3, which promises to be an epic conclusion. The final season drops on June 27 on Netflix.