Squid Games creator says he ‘wrestled between two different scenarios’ for the ending
Squid Games creator Hwang Dong-hyuk reveals he ‘wrestled between two different scenarios’ for the ending of the hit Netflix show and says he did consider an alternate happy outcome
Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said show nearly had different endingConcluded with Seong Gi-hun deciding not to get on a plane to see his daughterHe turned around on jet to seek revenge on the game that almost killed him
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Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has revealed that the first series of the hit Netflix show very nearly had a different ending.
The gruesome nine-part horror series sees characters take part in bloody versions of traditional children’s games, like Grandmother’s Footsteps, or British Bulldogs, with the winners progressing to the next ’round’ of the game show.
The losers are executed by a masked death squad standing by with machine guns.
The story centres around gambling addict Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) and his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), a disgraced banker wanted by the police.
In the final episode, the main characters are pitted against each other, with Gi-hun eventually tasked with killing his closest friend in order to win the game and take home the 45.6 billion won (around £28m) cash prize.
It ends with Gi-hun, a.k.a. Player 456, deciding not to get on a plane to see his daughter and instead, turning around to seek revenge on the game that almost killed him, along with the other 455 contestants who died.
However, speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Hwang Dong-hyuk said: ‘We actually wrestled between two different scenarios for the ending.’
Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has revealed that the hit Netflix show very nearly had a different ending. Pictured, Gi-hun decides not to get on a plane to see his daughter and instead turns around to seek revenge on the sadistic game
The gruesome nine-part horror series sees characters take part in bloody versions of traditional children’s games, like Grandmother’s Footsteps, or British Bulldogs, with the winners progressing to the next ’round’ of the game show. Pictured, a contestant is covered in blood after another player’s head is blown off in a hellish version of a Grandma’s Footsteps
‘There was one, the other alternate ending, where Gi-hun would get on the plane and leave. And then there was of course the one where he would turn back and walk towards the camera.’
He went on to explain how producers constantly questioned whether Gi-hun should leave and go see his family to ‘pursue his own happiness’ – before deciding it wasn’t the right way for them to propose the message they wanted to convey through the series.
‘We came to the conclusion that the question that we wanted to propose cannot be done if he left on the plane,’ Hwang continued. ‘The question that we want to answer – why has the world come to what it is now? — can only be answered or can only be proposed if Gi-hun turned back and walked towards the camera.
‘So that’s how we ended up with that ending in the finale.’
And fans of the Netflix series series can breathe a sigh of relief after Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed the show would be back for a second season.
Speaking at a guild screening of Squid Game on Monday in Hollywood, Hwang explained that the show’s rabid fanbase had left him with ‘no choice’ but to get to work on a second season.
The story centres around gambling addict Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) and his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), a disgraced banker wanted by the police
Adding to the depravity, the contestants are poor people who are enticed to compete to win a grand prize of 45 billion won. Pictured: one of the participant refuses to comply with the gory game’s rules
Since its release in September, the South Korean dystopian drama has gone on to be become Netflix’s most-watched series ever, toppling the previous champion Bridgerton.
Hwang stopped to talk about the series on the red carpet at the screening with Lee Jung-Jae, who stars in the series as Gi-hun.
‘But I will say there will indeed be a second season. It’s in my head right now. I’m in the planning process currently,’ he continued.
Korean-made Squid Game features grisly scenes of characters being shot in the head and organ harvesting, in the latest example of shock-tactic programming from the streaming giant.
It has become a cult hit with fans of the slasher horror genre who have dubbed the nine-part series ‘Saw meets the Hunger Games’ and revelled in scenes of torture and mass murder.
