This story contains spoilers for Squid Game season 3, episode 6.
Does the future of Squid Game have a green light? Or a deadly red light? Unfortunately, we have to say: mianhaeyo. (That's a formal way of saying sorry in Korean.) While the smash-hit dystopian thriller from South Korea continues to be a worldwide phenomenon, the series returned for its third and final season on Netflix this past Friday. As far as Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae) and series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk are concerned, this is the end of their story.
The streamer previously announced that the latest batch of episodesshot back-to-back with its second seasonwould mark the series finale. But thanks to an unexpected cameo in the finale minutes of season 3, Netflix seems to have changed its tune.
As the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) drives away from visiting Seong Gi-hun's daughter, he spots a mysterious, Cate Blanchettplayed character continuing to recruit potential players with gams of ddakji. Do I smell a spin-off? Well, according to Hwang, he didn't include the cameo to tease any further seasons.
"I didn't end it on that note in order to deliberately leave room for further stories to happen," the Squid Game creator told The Hollywood Reporter after the finale. "Gi-hun and Front Man, through these characters, the Games in Korea have ended. And because this story started out with me wanting to tackle issues about the limitless competition and the system that's created in late capitalism, I wanted to leave it on a note highlighting the fact that these systems, even if one comes down, it's not easy to dismantle the whole systemit will always repeat itself. That's why I wanted to end it with an American recruiter. And I wrote that scene wanting an impactful ending for the show, not in order to open rooms for anything else."
While Hwang might wish for the end of Squid Game, Netflix is surely weighing its options moving forward. A second season of Squid Game: The Challenge , the British reality competition inspired by Hwang's series, will hit the streamer at some point in the future. Plus, Deadline reported in December that David Fincheryes, the director of Seven and Fight Club and The Social Network will oversee development of an American version of Squid Game. Importantly, the show is billed as a spin-off of Hwang's show that will expand the setting and not simply remake the show in English. Truly, the horrors of capitalism transcend borders.
