Squid Game Season 2 to Feature ‘Heavier’ and ‘Darker’ Side of Gi-Hun

The first season of Netflix’s Squid Game introduced viewers to Lee Jung-jae’s Seong Gi-hun, a friendly and talkative man trying to survive the titular deadly game. Squid Game Season 2, however, is set to feature a different Gi-hun — one that is “heavier” and darker.” 

The South Korean survival drama series, which debuted in 2021, revolves around 456 players participating in a deadly children’s game all for a whopping ₩45.6 billion cash prize. Lee’s character ended up winning the whole game, but — as the recently released teaser trailer stated — “the game will not stop,” with Gi-hun dealing over the survivor’s guilt.

What to expect from Squid Game Season 2?

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed that Gi-hun is an entirely “different person” three years after the harrowing events in Season 1. 

“In season 2, you will not be getting the foolish and clumsy or childish at times Gi-hun that you saw in the beginning. You will get to see a much heavier, darker side of Gi-hun,” said the director. 

Lee then chimed in, saying that Gi-hun — due to the “huge amount of survivor’s guilt” — has spent three long years orchestrating his revenge. 

“He spent that time believing that these games must not continue, and he must put an end to it. He spent that time trying to track down those who are behind the game,” the actor said. 

He continued, “Gi-hun is back again in his green tracksuit. Gi-hun’s purpose is not to play the game, but to go after those who have created the game and put a stop to it. Compared to every other participant within the game and also himself in season 1, the approach that he takes is going to be very different this time around. It could almost be described as a game-within-a-game for Gi-hun.”

As for the games, Lee confirmed that the second season will feature a completely different set of games though “they are once again simple children’s games that a lot of kids in Korea grew up playing.”

Squid Game Season 2 hits Netflix on December 26. All nine episodes of the first season are available to stream on Netflix.