While Squid Game season 1 told a satisfyingly self-contained story, the Netflix hit series secretly set up several spinoffs with just one line. Ever since Squid Game premiered on Netflix, audiences have been debating whether the show asks for another season. Squid Game season 2 is happening, but more than continuing Gi-hun’s story, Squid Game’s best opportunity to become a long-running franchise is to explore potential spinoffs.
Toward the end of Squid Game season 1, right after it was revealed that the games were being broadcasted to a selected group of people, one of the VIPs mention how “the Korean games” had been the most fun so far. While that did not necessarily mean that there were other “Round 6” games happening around the world, it was curious that the VIP made sure to use the term “Korean games.” After the show premiered, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed (via Deadline) that he did want to set up the existence of other similar games around the world, which means that the VIP’s comment was not just a throwaway line. Squid Game’s Player 001, who was behind the games all along, revealed that he and other rich friends created the games simply to entertain them, a cruel project that may have been passed down onto Il-nam’s friends from other countries.
Worldwide Spinoffs Can Make Squid Game Into A Franchise
With Squid Game quickly becoming Netflix’s most-watched show of all time, an impressive record that not even Stranger Things season 4 was able to break, it will be no surprise if Squid Game kicks off a television franchise. In fact, that is already happening. A real-life Squid Game reality show is being produced by Netflix, and with Squid Game making history at the Emmys, a season 2 and a reality show might be only the beginning for the franchise. Recapturing the magic of Squid Game season 1 will not be easy. That is why worldwide Squid Game stories about international versions of the Round 6 games would be Netflix’s best move to create a Squid Game franchise. That would allow for original, unpredictable stories in the molds of Squid Game season 1 to be told without simply recreating the show’s formula. Each of those international spinoffs would have its own identity, singular local games, and messages that can resonate with different audiences.
Squid Game Can’t Rely On Gi-hun’s Story Only
While Gi-hun, also known as Player 456, is Squid Game’s main character and the core of the show, his story can only move so much forward. Stretching Gi-hun’s journey for several seasons would likely not work. Given how high the stakes are for Squid Game, it does not seem like Gi-hun would be able to fight the organizers of the games for too long. If Netflix wants to extend Squid Game into a franchise, then spinoffs such as international games are a much better option than simply continuing the original show for several seasons. A Squid Game prequel featuring any other of the dozens of iterations of the games would also work, but incorporating international spinoffs into the franchise would help each of the stories feel more unique.
Squid Game’s tremendous success all over the world opens the door for the show to become a franchise. Where exactly Squid Game season 2 will take Gi-hun’s story is difficult to say, but this newly born Netflix franchise can continue past Player 456. It remains to be seen what projects other than Squid Game season 2 and the Squid Game reality show Netflix will announce, if any.