Everything we know about Squid Game season two, now that it's official

Squid Game season two was inevitable after the runaway success of the first instalment.

When it dropped in September 2021, Netflix’s runaway Korean hit saw contestants compete in brutal versions of beloved childhood games to win money.

It sparked sales of green tracksuits, masks, and spawned a legion of cookie-makers on TikTok. And now, season two has been confirmed.

Here’s everything we know about Squid Game season two (with spoilers for season one, naturally)

Seong Gi-hun and the Front Man will return for Squid Game season two

The games in Squid Game are attritional for the characters, to say the least. But some fan favourites will be returning.

In a letter to fans, director Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed two of the series’ pivotal characters will be reprising their roles.

Seong Gi-hun, the protagonist of the first series, makes a return after emerging from the games as (spoiler alert, although it’s the show’s entire premise) the only survivor. With his conscience kicking into action, he’s poised to make some key interventions in the upcoming series

The Front Man, also known as Hwang In-ho, the secretive overseer of the games, will be back – meaning we can expect a fresh round of games in Squid Game season two.

Some new robots could come into play

Young-hee, the terrifying childlike robot screaming “red light, GREENLIGHT” at characters in the very first episode, is not alone.

Her boyfriend has been teased by director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who said: “You’ll also be introduced to Young-hee’s boyfriend, Cheol-su.”

Presumably, this means the second season won’t take a rom-com turn. Expect to see more broke contestants terrorised by an eerie, terrifying animatronic child.

Squid Game season two will explore the same themes as the first season

With life-altering sums of money up for grabs, and a mysterious higher power to battle against, it’s no wonder that Squid Game sees contestants turning on each other.

But creator Hwang wants to explore if they can break through that – and whether humans can do so. He told Vanity Fair that for Squid Game season two, “I want to ask the question, ‘Is true solidarity between humans possible?’ “

In season one, Hwang added: “If they were capable of talking with one another, of cooperating with one another, I do agree that there could have been a possibility that we could have seen more winners.”

The show’s creator says he expects the Squid Game season two release date to be in 2023 or 2024

It’s hard to believe it’s almost been a year since the first series hit our screens. And while Squid Game season two has been confirmed, expect a decent wait until it’s available to stream.

As of May, Hwang only had about three pages of ideas for the second instalment, and expected it to be out in late 2023 or 2024, according to Vanity Fair.