Green light! “Squid Game” Season 2 is on its way and Netflix has decided it’s time to give us a sneak peek at what’s to come in the second round of survival games. “There’s no stopping the game,” Netflix wrote on YouTube on Thursday as it dropped the official teaser for the new season of its hit series, which will debut on December 26. The new installment of the dystopian Korean drama – once again directed, written and produced by Hwang Dong-hyuk – will begin three years after the end of the previous game.
South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae, who claimed one of the series’ six Emmys for his lead role as Gi-hun, will return as game-winning Player 456, “who gave up going to the States and comes back with a new resolution in his mind,” a synopsis reads. “Gi-hun once again dives into the mysterious survival game, starting another life-or-death game with new participants gathered to win the prize of 45.6 billion won,” the synopsis adds.
Other familiar faces set to reappear include Gong Yoo as the sharp-suited salesman who finds new recruits for the high-stakes competition, Wi Ha-joon as infiltrating detective Hwang Jun-ho, and Lee Byung-hun as a masked frontman overseeing the game and pulling all the strings. “Squid Game” became a global phenomenon after having Netflix’s biggest series launch in 2021.
In July, the streaming service announced that the third season, set for 2025, will be the last. Are you ready to play the game? In a new trailer for Squid Game season 2 (below), Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) is right back in the mix. He even has his old number! Season 1's winner knows the secret of the game that the other contestants do not, however, and he’s determined to save their lives by joining the life-or-death contest once again. Bold strategy! Let’s see if it pays off.
Squid Game season 2 kicks off on December 26. According to Netflix, the second season picks up three years after Seong Gi-hun won the previous contest. “Player 456 gave up going to the States and comes back with a new resolution in his mind,” the streamer’s official description reads. “Gi-hun once again dives into the mysterious survival game, starting another life-or-death game with new participants gathered to win the prize of 45.6 billion won.”
Recruiter (Gong Yoo) is set to return as well, alongside the Frontman (Lee Byung-hun) and detective Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon). “Just focus on getting out of this place,” Gi-hun tells the new contestants in the trailer. “I’ve played these games before!” For more about the future of the series (and the new killer 100-meter race in the teaser), read on.
Considering that (spoiler) 455 people die in the first season, the roster of human stars is a bit bare for a second outing. Miraculously, Netflix revealed at a recent Tudum showcase that many of our favourite stars will be back. Lee Jung-jae, aka winner Seong Gi-hun, will return, entering the game once again. Some new players were announced, too, including former K-pop star Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul (The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure), Park Sung-hoon (Into the Ring), and Yang Dong-geun (Grand Prix).
Back in June 2022, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed to Vanity Fair that yes...there will be more games. “Humanity is going to be put to a test through those games once again,” he said. As he noted elsewhere in an AP interview, “There’s been so much pressure, so much demand, and so much love for a second season, so I almost feel like you leave us no choice....It’s in my head right now. I’m in the planning process currently.”
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Hwang discussed how season 2 is going to be a natural evolution from the concluding events of the first run of episodes. The creator made it clear that for the new season, he isn’t tapping into fan theories or what viewers have asked to see from the series. Rather, he plans to pick up where it left off and carry the story on as it was originally intended. Here’s his quote, in full:
I’ve seen many reactions from people about the show, but I don’t want to make season 2 as a response to those reactions. The philosophies I put in season 1 all naturally extend to season 2. Instead of trying to meet the expectations of viewers, I just thought about the last moment when Gi-hun turned away from boarding the plane, and I thought about what he will do next. There will naturally be a flow of events that will lead all the way to the end of the season. I can’t share any details yet, but you know that Seong Gi-hun has become a totally new person by the end of season 1, so season 2 is going to be about what that new Gi-hun is going to do and how things will unfold with this new kind of character.
There is also the theory that the second season will go deeper into the backstory of the Frontman. In particular, the story would focus on his history as a police officer. As Hwang previously told The Sunday Times, “I think the issue with police officers is not just an issue in Korea. I see it on the global news that the police force can be very late on acting on things—there are more victims or a situation gets worse because of them not acting fast enough. This was an issue that I wanted to raise. Maybe in season 2 I can talk about this more.”
In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hwang teased that he has a few other ideas about what season 2 could look like. As he said:
So, in short, there are various interpretations that he could explore.
“Because Gi-hun became more serious because he has to rescue these people, I’m thinking that he would become a more determined character,” said Lee. “But if he’s just too determined, that could be a little bit boring. So I’m guessing the fun parts of Gi-hun will also come out in the next season.”
So glad you asked. I would absolutely destroy my competitors at marbles, but I would likely die playing Red Light, Green Light, so the point is moot.
Keep checking back for more information on Squid Game season 2. This will be updated as additional details are released. Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) has returned to the games in the trailer for the highly-anticipated second season of Netflix’s Squid Game. The last season left off with Gi-hun seemingly intent on taking down the organizers behind the deadly games.
In the new season, Gi-hun is back again as contestant #456. As the game kicks off with “Red Light, Green Light,” he coaches players on how to win. This season, however, after each game, players can vote to either continue in the game or leave as the group and split the prize money they’ve accumulated.
“Don’t do this to yourselves,” Gi-hun says as contestants vote to stay. “Just focus on getting out of here.”
Watch the official trailer for Squid Game season two above. The show premieres on Netflix on December 26. A second Squid Game trailer has emerged, and it seems even more nervy and sinister than the last. Nobody thought that the second season for the contestants of the deadliest game on the planet would be any safer, but the demand to “smile” as the games begin feels extra cruel.
The new season of Squid Game brings back a familiar face—Seong Gi-hun, number 456 (Lee Jung-jae)—only his friends and foes from the first time around are, of course, no longer around. There are new contestants Seong has to manage or, to put it more bluntly, outlast, outwit, and outlive.
The new trailer reintroduces us to one of the most astonishingly brutal moments of TV in the past four years, the first time we saw Squid Games’ version of Red Light, Green Light, a classic kid’s game turned into a nightmare by the makes of the games. In this version, the contestants must make it to the other side of a field without being mowed down by a giant robot doll, Younghee, who shoots anything that moves. It’s hard to watch, and in season 2, it doesn’t look a smidge easier to bear.
Yet, in the opening seconds of the new trailer, a devilish proposition is proposed to the contestants. If they want, they can forgo the games and split the prize money, saving themselves a lot of pain and death by being just a bit less greedy.
Seong Gi-hun tries to keep the contestants alive, but why would they listen to him? So he reveals to the contestants that he’s been in the game before, a surprising fact given the circumstances. “Why the hell would you come crawling back?” one asks. Good question.
The second season of Netflix’s biggest series ever returns on December 26, usually a very active time for streaming. When the first season premiered in 2021, it brought in an astonishing 265.2 million views and a total watch-time of 2.2 billion hours—in its first 13 weeks of release.
“Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae), who vowed revenge at the end of season one, returns and joins the game again,” Squid Game executive producer, writer, and director Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote in a press release detailing the series’ upcoming conclusion. “Will he succeed in getting his revenge? Front Man doesn’t seem to be an easy opponent this time, either. The fierce clash between their two worlds will continue into the series finale in season three, which will be brought to you next year.”
Lee Jung-Jae’s career has taken off stateside since Squid Game first bowed, starring in Disney+’s recent Star Wars series, The Acolyte, playing Master Jedi Sol. He’ll be joined in season two by returning cast members Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo. Newcomers include Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Lee Jin-uk, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Choi Seung-hyun, Roh Jae-won, Jo Yu-ri and Won Ji-an.
Check out the trailer below. Netflix has unveiled a new teaser trailer for Squid Game season 2, in which season 1 winner Seong Gi-hun aka Player 456, played by Lee Jung-jae, is back for round two.
“Three years after winning Squid Game, Player 456 gave up going to the States and comes back with a new resolution in his mind,” according to the official season 2 synopsis. “Gi-hun once again dives into the mysterious survival game, starting another life-or-death game with new participants gathered to win the prize of 45.6 billion won.”
Armed with the knowledge he gained the first time around, the trailer finds Gi-hun attempting to convince a new group of players vying for the prize to opt out of the game “before they kill us all.”
Lee Byung-hun also returns for season 2 as the mysterious Front Man in charge of running the game.
Squid Game season 2 launches Dec. 26 on Netflix.
