It’s usually a few years after a movie or show is released that a filmmaker will reveal that they only participated for the payday, but that’s not the case for Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, who openly admitted he had to return for the second season because of a financial dispute with Netflix. Season 1 of the South Korean series was an international mega-hit for the streamer, racing to the top of Netflix’s chart, where it dominated week after week. The show also inspired an American reality TV version, an upcoming American remake by none other than David Fincher, and reportedly earned Netflix around $900 million. But Hwang wasn’t fairly compensated for his work.
The battle between Hwang Dong-hyuk and Netflix over back-end royalties has gone on for some time now. Despite earning a gross amount of money for Netflix, Hwang Dong-hyuk said he never earned any residuals from the show, and was only paid a fractional upfront fee for creating it. Speaking to the BBC ahead of the release of Season 2 of Squid Game, the creator revealed that financial issues were his main motivation for returning. He said:
“Even though the first series was such a huge global success, honestly, I didn’t make much. So doing the second series will help compensate me for the success of the first one too.”
At the end of his answer, Hwang Dong-hyuk’s company-mandated PR training finally kicked in, as the creator quickly tagged on, saying “And I didn’t fully finish the story.” However, it likely would have been less stressful for Hwang to find a twisted billionaire and compete in a real-life Squid Game (someone is for sure doing it), as Season 2 was reportedly an immensely stressful process. During the show’s production, it was rumored that the creator had lost six teeth due to stress. However, he confirmed in the interview it was more like “eight or nine.”
Squid Game Season 2 Is an “Us vs. Them” Story
Season 1 of Squid Game, as well as introducing the world to the craziest physical game show since Takeshi’s Castle, was a bonkers take on the Eat the Rich narrative trope that has exploded across Hollywood. However, Season 2 will delve deeper into Hwang Dong-hyuk’s pessimistic view of the world, as the game show’s return will feature some shocking new additions.
“New lines are being drawn. We’re in an era of us vs them. Who’s right and who’s wrong?” the creator said. After each game, players will return to the dorm room, which has been divided into two halves. The players will then vote on whether they want to continue playing, or leave the show. The side with the fewer votes will be killed.
Season 2 will also see Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) return to the games, after winning in the previous season. According to Hwang, Gi-hun has returned on a mission to save the players in the game, and try and shut down Squid Game once and for all. Season 2 also stars Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo. Squid Game Season 2 premieres on Netflix on December 26, 2024.
In Squid Game, a mysterious invitation to join a competition is sent to people at risk who are in dire need of money. Four hundred fifty-six participants from all walks of life are locked into a secret location where they play games to win 45.6 billion won. Games are selected from traditional Korean children’s games, such as Red Light and Green Light, but the consequence of losing is death. To survive, competitors must choose their alliances carefully – but the further they go in the competition, the more likely betrayal will rear its ugly head.
- Release Date
- September 17, 2021
- Creator(s)
- Hwang Dong-hyuk
- Cast
- Wi Ha-joon , Anupam Tripathi , Oh Yeong-su , Heo Sung-tae , Park Hae-soo , Jung Ho-yeon , Lee Jung-jae , Kim Joo-ryoung