Squid Game Season 2 Will Make A Massive Change
Squid Games Season 2 will make Lee Jung-jae's Seong Gi-hun a much more serious character
This article is more than 2 years old
Squid Game became a massive cultural phenomenon last year, with millions tuning in to see down-on-their-luck characters compete in deadly games to win a cash prize. The season ended with a cliffhanger, which Netflix made good on by greenlighting a second season. According to Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, we can expect Squid Game Season 2 to be quite a different journey for star Lee Jung-jae’s character.
Speaking to Deadline, Hwang Dong-hyuk said “the biggest change will be the change of [Lee Jung-jae’s] character. Because he’s a different guy in season 2. You know he turned his hair color to red and he became like something more like, serious, more like going for revenge so his character will be totally different.”
In the first season of Squid Game, Lee Jung-jae played Seong Gi-hun. Although Gi-hun was resourceful during his time in the games, he was a fairly timid character throughout. As he progressed in the games, we saw his character gradually toughen up and learn to stand on his own. In the final moments of the season finale, we see Gi-hun nearly leave on a plane to go see his daughter but changes his mind at the last second to seek out who runs the games.
It’ll be interesting to see what direction they take Lee Jung-jae’s character in Squid Game Season 2 and how much the actual games factor into the season. Presumably, we won’t see Gi-hun participate in the games again, unless that happens to be part of his plan. Regardless, it’s a pretty safe bet that the season will bring in record-breaking levels of viewers to Netflix once again.
Netflix had already greenlit Squid Game Season 2 before the recent Emmys ceremony, but now they’re probably even happier with their decision. Squid Game scored an impressive amount of nominations for a freshman show, with a chance to win in 14 different categories. And win it did, as Hwang Dong-hyuk nabbed the win for Outstanding Direction and Lee Jung-jae won the highly coveted Best Actor in a Drama Series.
Squid Game ended the night with four more awards. Along with the Best Actor and Direction accolades, they took home Oustanding Production Design, Outstanding Stunt Performance, and Outstanding Special Effects in a Single Episode. Lee Yoo-mi also took home an award for Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Ji-yeong.
Squid Game was a massive role for Lee Jung-jae, whose nuanced performance gave us a protagonist to root for despite their flaws. While he’ll no doubt bring the same level of acting quality to Squid Game Season 2, his performance has caught the attention of Hollywood and nabbed him another massive role in the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte. The Acolyte will explore the end of the High Republic era of Star Wars history and the dark side powers that began to emerge then.
Not too much is known about The Acolyte yet, but Lee Jung-jae is one of the few cast members announced along with co-stars Jodie Turner-Smith, Amandla Stenberg, and the most recent addition Manny Jacinto (The Good Place). We’ll just have to wait and see who Lee Jung-jae will be playing in the series, but we’ll likely find out before the release of Squid Game Season 2. The Acolyte is set for an August 11, 2023 release while Squid Game hasn’t even begun filming.
