Hwang Dong-hyuk, the 53-year-old South Korean film director, producer, and writer behind ‘Squid Game’, recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly, revealing what fans can anticipate from the upcoming final season of the Korean survival drama. He intends to make the season even more brutal.
Hwang shared, “In the case of season 3, I wanted to introduce games that could really show the lowest bottom of human beings, because the series itself is reaching its climax.” He added, “I wanted very intense games to bring out the bottom parts of human nature.”
The director of ‘The Fortress’ even compiled a list of games he played in his childhood, referencing them throughout the series. “In season 1, we had lots of games like Tug of War that really utilized height and the fear that this height gives, but in the case of season 2, we didn’t have that element,” Hwang quipped. Explaining his decision to include ruthless and fear-inducing games in the final season, he clarified, “That is why in season 3, I decided to introduce games that could really infuse fear in people with sheer height.”
Expanding on this, the ‘Silenced’ director added, “For season 1, I tried to focus on how there’s intense competition going around in this extreme capitalistic society. In the case of season 2, I wanted to show how Gi-hun breaks the game’s rules by trying to introduce this revolt of trying to upend the system, but then it ends in failure.”
Hwang Dong-hyuk stated, “And in the case of season 3, I wanted to take a slightly different approach — I wanted to focus on how [people] have to preserve their humanity amidst this intense competition in this capitalistic era. I wanted to focus on how we can preserve our sense of humanity and how we should remain humans even amidst this intense competition. I try to pose that as a final question.”
For those unaware, the second installment concluded with a cliffhanger, as Gi-hun attempted to confront the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) but tragically lost his friend, Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan). Now, in the forthcoming final season, he will experience the loss of his friend with even greater intensity. It is worth noting that the third and final season of the hit Netflix show, ‘Squid Game’, is scheduled for release on June 27, 2025.
