Squid Game director teases Gi-hun's Darth Vader vs. Jedi 'test' in potential season 2
Will Squid Game's lone surviving hero turn to the dark side in season 2?
Netflix's hit Korean drama ended its first season with Seong Gi-hun, a.k.a. Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae), deciding not to get on a plane to see his daughter. Instead, he turned around on the jet bridge to seek revenge on the sadistic game that almost cost him his life and left 455 other contestants dead. And while the streaming service hasn't renewed Squid Game yet, Lee and director Hwang Dong-hyuk are already teasing how Gi-hun could face an even bigger decision in season 2.
"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 during a virtual SAG panel Sunday night hosted by EW's editor-in-chief, Mary Margaret. "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."
Hwang continued, "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."
netflix Lee Jung-Jae on 'Squid Game'
Lee then zoomed into the camera for dramatic effect as he joked, "If I had to be a Front Man, I would be the most scary Front Man you would ever see."
Since its September release, Squid Game has emerged as Netflix's biggest series launch ever, becoming the first Korean series to hit No. 1 in the U.S. It topped the charts in all 94 countries where the streamer has a top 10 list. But the stars are even more proud of how the series is bringing Korean content into mainstream pop culture.
Park Hae-soo, who played Cho Sang-woo, a.k.a. Player 218, pointed out "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."
And Lee is grateful for how "the whole team ... really pulled their whole hearts and souls into it. Each cut is so precious and I would say I'm most proud of our entire team. Of the crew, the cast, and everyone involved who did something amazing."
HoYeon Jung, who played Kang Sae-byeok, a.k.a. Player 067, applauded "the relationship between my Squid Game team," adding, "It's the relationship you can't easily get in your life and it's the relationship that you can keep forever. I'm proud of the relationships of Squid Game."
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