Squid Game season 2 is coming to Netflix and we finally have an official release date, plus a new teaser has been released. The new 30-second long teaser (below) features the return of Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), the season 1 champion and sole survivor. We see a string of players in the clip but we don't see their faces except for his.
Following the huge success of Squid Game season 1, it's no surprise that fans are desperate to find out what happens in the next installment of Netflix's global phenomenon. And it's not just season 2 we have to look forward to, because it has also been revealed that Squid Game season 3 will air in 2025, which will be the final installment of the series.
The first season, which launched in September 2021, became a worldwide sensation with over 1.65 billion viewing hours in the first 28 days. It was also the first show ever to have been watched by over 100 million Netflix accounts in that same time frame, making it Netflix's biggest show in the streamer's history.
Series director, writer, and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed the news about season 2's Christmas arrival in an emotional letter to fans. “I am beyond excited to be writing this letter to announce the date for Season 2 and share the news of Season 3, the final season,” he wrote. “The fierce clash between [Gi-hun and Front Man’s] two worlds will continue into the series finale with Season 3, which will be brought to you next year.”
Here's everything we know about Squid Game season 2 so far...
Squid Game season 2 release date
Squid Game season 2 will land on Netflix on Thursday, December 26, 2024. The series will be available to stream worldwide.
Squid Game season 2 trailer
On Thursday, August 1, 2024, Netflix released a brief Olympics-themed teaser, that shows a seemingly normal race that goes awry... (there's also another teaser above).
Squid Game season 2 first look
Netflix also released a first look at the second season earlier this year, with a short clip showing the only surviving player Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) seemingly going after those responsible for the games.
Take a look below...
Introducing the very first look at SQUID GAME SEASON 2. Coming this year. pic.twitter.com/fzRzdtHRDYFebruary 1, 2024
Squid Game season 2 plot
At the end of the first season, we learned that the apparently innocent old man Oh Il-Nam (Player 001) was behind the games the whole time, and he didn't actually die during the events of episode 6. He was confronted by sole survivor Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) in the season finale, revealing that he created the games to entertain the bored ultra-rich like himself, where they could bet on which players would survive. It was also revealed that he took part in the games for nostalgia's sake.
Oh Il-Nam dies from his brain tumour, and Seong Gi-hun goes off to board a plane to visit his daughter. However, he spots the same man who recruited him into the games on his way to the airport, and snatches the card away from an unsuspecting citizen about to be coerced into taking part. After dialing the number, he decides not to get on the plane and heads back into the city, presumably to get his revenge on the game's creators.
With that cliffhanger ending, there's definitely room for more drama, and Hwang Dong-hyuk has suggested a second season could focus on Oh Il-Nam's backstory and the early days of the murderous games.
For anyone who's finished Squid Game and can't get enough Squid Game here are the cast and crew of Squid Game talking about how they made Squid Game. pic.twitter.com/85vaGoFDZLOctober 4, 2021
He said: "Oh Il-nam is a man of huge success from nothing. As we see from the phrase ‘the money man’, he is a veiled big shot in the financial industry.
"It seems, however, the way how he yearns for the happy moments of his past shows that he has lost many things including his family and his humanity at the cost of success. If there will be a season two, we might reveal a little more about his past story."
In addition to this, during an interview with People, actor Lee Jung-jae teased: "I have no idea what will happen or the scale of it, but the only thing [director Hwang] did tell me was that Seong Gi-hun is going to be in the show again, and he's going to be playing in the arena again."
Squid Game season 2 cast
So far we know that Lee Jung-Jae, Wi Ha-joon, Gong Yoo and Lee Byung-hun will be reprising their roles from season 1, and there are some new stars who will be taking on the deadly games.
If you need a refresher, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), season 1’s main character, was buried in debt when he received an invitation to the games. With his daughter serving as motivation, Gi-hun chose to participate, and it was at the games that he encountered his old friend and fellow contestant, Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo). Without revealing too much, know that Gi-hun does make it out of the games alive; however, he ends the first season determined to make the people responsible for the cruel competition pay for their “atrocities” against people. Thus, setting up his return in the next chapter.
Now let’s talk about the new players: Yim Si-wan (Unlocked), Kang Ha-neul (The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure), Park Gyu-young (Sweet Home, Celebrity), Park Sung-hoon (The Glory), Jo Yu-ri, Yang Dong-geun (Yaksha: Ruthless Operations), Kang Ae-sim (Be Melodramatic, Move to Heaven), Lee David (The Fortress), Lee Jin-uk (Sweet Home), Choi Seung-hyun (Tazza: The Hidden), Roh Jae-won (Missing Yoon) and Won Ji-an (D.P.). But you’ll have to wait and find out more about their characters.
The news was confirmed in a social media teaser that read: "Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-Hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo will all be returning for Squid Game Season 2! And #TUDUM just revealed four new actors who will be joining the cast!"
Furthermore, director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who won an Emmy for his work on Season 1, will direct and executive all of Season 2.
