Squid Game became a word-of-mouth success story not just because of its unique dystopian premise, but because of how shocking the depiction of that premise was. Characters playing its sadistic game were fully developed, only to end up a bloody corpse after losing a game of marbles. The game was never afraid to show how people, even fan-favorite characters, were willing to risk their lives for a shot at a better existence.
Now, ahead of Squid Game Season 2’s December 26 premiere, showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk reveals that he’s taken this element to the next level, claiming the new season has moments so intense he’s unsure if audiences can stomach them.
Hwang told Empire Magazine the escalation of Squid Game Season 2 was influenced by real world developments. “It’s not getting better out there — it’s getting worse,” he said. “Worse climate change, more wars, more people dying. Compare the world [in 2021] and now — our lives are not improving. You know that!”
That grim outlook has been translated to the screen. “I even had some concerns because the story told in the second season is much crueler, scarier and more gruesome than the first,” he said. “Honestly, I thought to myself... ‘Is this too much for people to handle?’”
Squid Game Season 2 has been in the works for a while, but it was only this summer that we learned it would also be the penultimate season, with Season 3 wrapping up the show for good. If Season 2 is gruesome to the point where its showrunner is worried about whether audiences can stomach it, there’s no telling how the show will up the ante in Season 3.
Whether that decision was a good one remains to be seen, but making such an intense season of television hasn’t been easy. While Hwang says Season 2 is a “deeper, more advanced story,” he also said that “physically, mentally, it was not easy. Some of the sequences we shot were the most challenging in my whole career. It was... hell.” Hopefully, the end result will be worth the blood, sweat, and tears... and hopefully, Hwang won’t put himself through too much trouble making Season 3.
