The highly-anticipated third season of “Squid Game” has almost commenced — and the competition is more fierce than ever. Lee Jung-jae reprises his lead role for Season 3, which takes place three years after the events of the first “Squid Game.” Now, Gi-hun (Lee) is determined to destroy the games for good and has spent his prize money only to support his cause.
After Gi-hun convinced his fellow players to overpower the Squid Game guards during the Season 2 finale, Gi-hun is back confronting the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) as Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) looks for the island.
“Squid Game 2” premiered in December 2024 and debuted to 68 million views in its first week. Netflix announced at the time that it was a record for the streamer and beat out the previous one set by “Wednesday” in 2022, which managed only 50.1 million views.
“Squid Game” Season 2 was seven episodes and ended on a cliffhanger. The season also introduced a new characters such as Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun), Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim), Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri), and the games’ guard No-eul (Park Gyu-young).
Hwang Dong-hyuk is the creator and showrunner of “Squid Game.” IndieWire’s review for Season 2 cited how the continuation felt like “the standard sequel to a Hollywood blockbuster” thanks in part to the “bigger, bolder style that tends to come with extra resources.” Critic Ben Travers wrote, “Season 2 is more like half-a-season, complete with a cliffhanger ending. For anyone satisfied with the first competition, the seven new episodes are still likely to provide enough visceral entertainment or vicarious thrills to merit a return trip. Season 2 continues to capitalize on a premise that’s instinctively absorbing — who will win and who will lose, who will play with honor and who will debase themselves, who will we identify with and who will we vilify. The slightly trickier questions — the ones that last a little longer than the length of each game — are when and why: When does a character cross a line? Why do they cross it? And can we empathize with their justifications for doing so?”
Season 3 will be the final season for “Squid Game,” but the franchise could continue with David Fincher being rumored to direct an English-language spinoff for Netflix.
“Squid Game” Season 3 premieres June 27 on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.
