Netflix has released a teaser for season three of Squid Game, and it reveals a major change to one of the show’s most recognisable games.
Squid Game season two broke records after it was watched 68 million times in the first four days after it launched on Netflix on Boxing Day. Its viewership in premiere week beat Jenna Ortega thriller Wednesday’s 50.1 million views when it was released in 2022.
The show follows hundreds of cash-strapped individuals as they compete in deadly games for a life-changing sum of money, and their lives. It welcomes the return of Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun/Player 456, who seeks to infiltrate the games and put an end to them once and for all.
One of those games is “Red Light, Green Light”, which sees a doll placed at one end of a field while players try to make their way across to her.
The doll, Young-hee, dressed in a yellow t-shirt and orange dress, has become a symbol for the show. Jung Ho-yeon, who played Sae-byeok in the first season, confirmed the doll was inspired by a character in Korean school textbooks, on Tonight with Jimmy Fallon in 2021.
In a teaser for season three released on Wednesday (1 January), the doll appears, looking slightly concerned opposite a brand new male doll. As new players enter behind her, she is seen facing the male doll in a green shirt with stripes.
“Everyone say hi to Chul-su,” wrote Netflix alongside the teaser. “Squid Game 3 coming 2025.”
In one of Netflix’s YouTube channels, Still Watching Netflix, the history behind the dolls is revealed. Both Young-hee and Chul-su are regularly recurring fictional children in Korean education texts that are “similar to the American versions Dick and Jane or Jack and Jill”.
The dolls, it is explained, “were used to teach Korean kids about morals, good behaviours, and to learn how to read and write”.
Although they aren’t featured as prominently anymore, they are said to be prominent reminders of childhood for many adults.
Squid Game creators had confirmed a third season was in development even before the official release of season two. While an official release date has not been announced, the show’s creator Hwang Dong-hyu toldVariety: “At this point, anything I might say is going to be a spoiler, so I want to be cautious.
“But what I can say is, after season two launches, I believe we will be announcing the launch date for season three soon. I probably expect that to launch around summer or fall.”
