As the survivor of Squid Game, Gi-hun may have to choose between a Jedi or Darth Vader path in a potential season 2. Squid Game became the first Korean series to take the No. 1 spot in the U.S. on Netflix. With the series launching in September 2021, it soon became one of the most successful launches for Netflix.
Squid Game season 1 followed Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, as he joins 455 other players who are struggling in their lives. Through various circumstances, the players have willingly agreed to join the games, not knowing that losers are executed. As each player is eliminated, the prize money increases, until there is only one survivor left. Gi-hun is crowned the winner of the Squid Games after a brutal fight with his best friend Sang-Woo. After not using the prize money for a year, Gi-Hun plans a trip to visit his daughter in America. However, Gi-Hun decides to not board the plane, leaving audiences wondering if he will get revenge on the people behind the games.
With Squid Game's massive success, a second season seemed inevitable. And while Netflix hasn't officially renewed the series for a second season yet, director Hwang Dong-Hyuk has been teasing fans with hints at what a second season could have in store. Speaking with EW, Hwang said Gi-hun would be "put through a test" while referencing Star Wars. Read the full quote below:
"In other words, his humanity is shown through a very passive manner. But I would think that in the second season, what he has learned from the games and his experience in the first season, they will all be put to use in a more active manner. And at the same time, as for the Front Man [Lee Byung-hun] who was also a past winner but became a Front Man, it's like Darth Vader. Some end up Jedi and some become Darth Vader, right? I think that maybe Gi-hun will go through a certain critical point where he is put through a test as well."
Lee's powerful acting as Gi-hun gave audiences a grounded connection to the world Hwang built in season 1. Having Gi-hun go through a Jedi/Darth Vader-style test would be an interesting move for the series, one that has some precedence within the choices of other winners of the games. As Hwang mentioned, characters like the Front Man, who had his own tumultuous past, already establish various possibilities for Gi-hun to explore as he continues to live with the outcome of the games in season 1.
Until Netflix officially green-lights Squid Game season 2, fans can only speculate on what Hwang and Lee have in store for Gi-hun and the treacherous games that may appear. And while audiences don't know if Squid Game will return yet, it's safe to say Hwang has plenty of ideas for where the series could go in the future. For now, Hwang, Lee, and the other stars of Squid Game can enjoy the success of all the hard work they and the crew have put into the series.
Source: EW