Spoilers for all of Squid Game season 2 ahead. Ever since the original installment became a surprise global phenomenon in fall 2021, viewers have been waiting for Netflix's dystopian K-drama Squid Game to return for more episodes. Three years after season 1's premiere, Squid Game season 2 finally debuted on December 26, 2024, with fans rooting for Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) to end the horrifying games. Instead, we were left with a cliffhanger, as season 2 ended with Gi-hun reaching another devastating emotional low as his rebellion against the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) failed.
Luckily, Netflix has confirmed that Squid Game will complete its epic story. In July 2024, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed that the series would conclude with the third and final season. Now that we know which characters survived season 2, read on for everything we know about Squid Game season 3 so far. (If you're still scratching your head over the cliffhangers at the end of season 2, read our finale breakdown.)
When will 'Squid Game' season 3 be released?
Don't worry: There won't be another three-year wait between Squid Game seasons 2 and 3. Netflix confirmed that Squid Game season 3 will be on June 27, 2025. The streaming giant dropped the release date during their Next on Netflix event on January 29, as well as first-look photos and a poster that makes florals look menacing.
Before the official date announcement, Hwang had confirmed that season 3 was in post-production, with the cast having filmed seasons 2 and 3 back-to-back. The director also teased the possible release window in a post-season 2 interview with Variety. "After season 2 launches, I believe we will be announcing the launch date for season 3 soon. I probably expect that to launch around summer or fall next year," he told the outlet.
Netflix didn't include a full season 3 trailer at the end of season 2, but viewers did get some flashes of a future scene. The Red Light, Green Light doll Young-hee returns, this time under a painted sunset, and she has company. A male doll (her "boyfriend," Cheol-su, per Hwang) faces her while a railroad crossing switches from red to green. Get ready for season 3.
Who in the 'Squid Game' cast will return for season 3?
The death toll for season 2 was lower than expected, meaning that most of the show's new ensemble cast will be back to finish their arcs. That includes Lee Jung-jae (Gi-hun), Lee Byung-hun (Front Man), Wi Ha-jun (Jun-ho), Jun Suk-ho (Woo-seok), Yim Si-wan (Myung-gi, 333), Jo Yu-ri (Jun-hee, 222), Yang Dong-geun (Yong-sik, 007), Kang Ae-shim (Geum-ja, 149), Park Gyu-young (No-eul), Kang Ha-Neul (Dae-ho, 388), Park Sung-hoon (Hyun-ju, 120), Chae Gook-hee (Seon-nyeo, 044), Lee David (Min-su, 125), and Roh Jae-won (Nam-gyu, 124).
Eagle-eyed fans have also theorized that one fallen player, Gyeong-seok, or 246 (played by Lee Jin-uk), likely didn't die after he was shot in the season 2 finale. The popular theory is that the masked guard who shot him was No-eul and that she may have helped him escape the facility. (Hopefully, so they could fall in love and raise his daughter together! We can dream!)
With seasons 2 and 3 being connected, it's unlikely that season 3 will add any new cast members. However, we may get another surprise casting like Park Hee-soon as the Front Man's lieutenant.
What will 'Squid Game' season 3 be about?
Netflix has confirmed that Squid Game season 3 will pick up right after season 2's bleak ending. Per the press release, "season 3 explores the choices Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) will make amidst overwhelming despair. As the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) plots his next move, the surviving players find their decisions leading to increasingly dire consequences with each round of the deadly games."
Much of where the show goes next will depend on Gi-hun's mental state, whether he's able to rally and fight again or if he loses all hope. Either way, he'll likely be forced to continue the games with the rest of the remaining players, for the Front Man and VIPs' perverse amusement. (Also, since the Xs are pretty much wiped out, the games could last all six rounds.)
Outside of specifics, which are anyone's guess, there are two big emotional showdowns that season 3 is headed toward: one between Gi-hun and Front Man (hopefully without his mask), and one between Front Man and his brother Jun-ho. Since Captain Park has been working for Front Man, he may lead Jun-ho and crew to the correct island so the two brothers can reunite face to face.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hwang teased that Front Man's complicated feelings towards Gi-hun will factor into the upcoming season. As many fans have theorized, Hwang said there may be some hope for redemption within the Front Man, as the antagonist has a layered response to seeing how Gi-hun retained hope in humanity after winning the games, instead of giving up on people altogether.
"What he feels toward Gi-hun is hatred," Hwang told the outlet. "He looks down on him and wants to win above him. However, deep inside, watching Gi-hun having gone through the same experience he first had in Squid Game, and seeing how Gi-hun is genuinely believing in humanity, is persisting to protect humanity…I believe the Front Man harbors a very strange inferiority complex, or a sense of defeat, when he sees Gi-hun."
"Even deeper down, I suspect he harbors a bit of respect for Gi-hun, as well," he continued. "He really sees what he let go of and what he lost when he sees Gi-hun. Secretly, he might even want Gi-hun to fight on."
Will there be a 'Squid Game' spinoff?
While fans still have another season to look forward to, Hwang has shared that he would possibly be up to return to the world of Squid Game someday. (Likely after a long deal of rest.)
He told THR that he sees the upcoming episodes as the end of the series, but shared where he could see the world of Squid Game going next. "Personally, I see the third season as being the finale to this story. That’s because I believe I’ve had closure to the story I wanted to tell about society through the character of Seong Gi-hun," he explained. "If I ever wanted to go back to the world of Squid Game, it would be about different characters with a different story arc. Some kind of spinoff, maybe. For example, the masked guards. How did they end up here? What do they do in their downtime? Something like that, maybe."
