Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has teased that he’s “brainstorming and collecting the ideas” for the smash-hit Netflix thriller’s second season, hinting in the process that breakout star Jung Ho-yeon could return for a new role.
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Appearing on the red carpet at this year’s PGA Awards, Hwang told Deadline that Squid Game fans should temper their hopes that season two might see an imminent release, as the new episodes are yet to begin production.
Asked what fans can expect from the South Korean show’s return, Hwang said: “There will be more great games, that’s all I can say. I’m just still brainstorming and collecting the ideas for season two. I haven’t even started with the writing yet.”
Hwang went on to say that season two of Squid Game would feature a largely new cast, owing to the fact that most established characters died throughout the first season. “I’ll try something to bring them back [for] season two,” he said, before gesturing to Jung and teasing: “Let’s say maybe she has a twin sister, you’ll see.”
Jung – who in the first season starred as Kang Sae-byeok, a North Korean defector who plays the titular Squid Game to pay for her parents to be moved across the border – played into the tease, adding: “I could change my hair color. Let’s do a little like plastic surgery.”
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed that Squid Game would return earlier this year, saying in the streaming giant’s latest quarterly earning call that a second season was fast-tracked into development. Hwang had first confirmed that he would would return for season two last November, alongside several hints at the potential direction it would head in.
The show has been incredibly successful since its debut last September. It made history at this year’s SAG Awards with two major wins, as cast members Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon became the first actors from a non-English-language series to win acting prizes.
It also scored two wins at this year’s Critics Choice Awards, earning Lee Jung-jae (who played the series’ main character, Seong Gi-hun) the trophy for Best Actor In A Drama Series, and winning the gong for Best Foreign Language Series.
Jung is considered one of Squid Game’s breakout stars. Her latest role is in the upcoming Apple TV+ thriller Disclaimer, which is being helmed by Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón. She joins a cast led by Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline.
Last year, Jung appeared on the set of the American teen drama Euphoria, after being invited by lead actor Zendaya. Earlier this week, she declared that she would “love to” join the HBO series’ cast.
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