Squid Game star O Yeong-su has revealed details regarding the now officially confirmed the second season of the Netflix smash-hit series. Speaking with DiscussingFilm, O Yeong-su revealed that creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has several “new” and even more “dramatic” games in mind for Squid Game Season 2, before explaining how the shadow of his character, the duplicitous Oh Il-nam, will hang over the show’s return.
“Well, for the games that were in season one, I remember playing them when I was young, when I was little. I don’t know what else I could think of. But Director Hwang [Dong-Hyuk], I don’t think he would have invented new games [for the upcoming season]. I think he would have gotten some new games from his childhood and he actually told me that he has some that are more dramatic. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Released in September 2021 to mass acclaim, the first season of Squid Game centers on a contest in which 456 players, drawn from different walks of life but each deeply in debt, play a set of children’s games with deadly consequences in the hopes of winning a 45.6 billion Won prize. O Yeong-su stars in the first season of Squid Game as Oh Il-nam, an elderly man with a brain tumor who seems to enjoy playing the violent versions of childhood games that make up the contest.
After what appears to be a tragic end, it’s revealed that Oh Il-nam is in fact the wealthy creator of the contest, which he invented to entertain bored wealthy people like himself. One thing is true, though, he is dying, with O Yeong-su revealing how Oh Il-nam's passing will affect the protagonist, Seong Gi-hun, going into season 2.
"I believe Oh Il-nam now will be deep in the consciousness of Seong Gi-hun. And I think Gi-hun made some personal growth due to Il-nam. I think that’s going to impact how he views life, and how he makes relationships with other people in Season 2. I think Season One of Squid Game was mostly about incidents that happened to Gi-Hun; the external factors that were at play in his life. But Season 2 will be more about how he views himself and how he shapes his own life.”
O Yeong-su has since been awarded a Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination for his performance in Squid Game, and no doubt Hwang Dong-hyuk is searching his brain for a way to bring him back. Could a flashback or another fake-out be on the cards?
Squid Game Season 2 Was Officially Renewed by Netflix Last Month
It is now official, there will be a second season of Squid Game on Netflix, with the streaming giant renewing the show last month. While details of the plot remain a secret at present (though it has been suggested that the series could focus on the mysterious Front Man), creator Hwang Dong-hyuk is now hard at work putting together another story that will no doubt shock and excite audiences in equal measure. And it will be a story that flows organically from Squid Game Season 1, with Dong-hyuk striving to continue the tale of Seong Gi-hun free from audience expectation.
Squid Game Season 1 is available to watch on Netflix.