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Father of ‘Squid Sport’ discusses scrapped video games, Cate Blanchett’s cameo and Gi-hun’s downfall
“Squid Sport,” director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s brainchild, wrapped its saga with Season 3, which topped Netflix’s international TV charts on FlixPatrol inside a day of launch on Friday.
However opinions have been divided — some lauding its gripping twists and a few criticizing it for falling wanting the unique’s creativity. A lot of the backlash additionally centered on the ending, the place Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) dies to save lots of a child born throughout the lethal video games.
In a shock twist, Hwang has revealed that the unique plan was for the sequence to conclude on a way more hopeful notice.
“Once I first began enthusiastic about the second season, I had a obscure concept that Gi-hun would return to the sport — possibly to destroy it or at the least assist a number of individuals escape — after which go to see his daughter within the US,” Hwang stated throughout a press interview held Monday in Seoul’s Samcheong-dong.
“That was the tough storyline I initially had in thoughts. However as I started critically writing the undertaking, I requested myself, ‘What’s the story I really need to inform?’ And that led me to the belief that Gi-hun’s journey needed to finish right here.”
Hwang emphasised that the present has all the time served as a mirrored image of up to date realities.
“In comparison with after I created Season 1, the world has gotten even worse. Financial inequality has deepened, unusual individuals’s lives have turn into harder and wars proceed to escalate endlessly,” he stated.
“Yearly, issues appear to develop extra severe by the day. However individuals don’t appear to have both the desire or the power to repair it. If issues proceed this manner, the long run appears to be like really bleak. That’s a actuality I felt wanted to be addressed.”
He added that Gi-hun’s tragic arc was meant to underline these themes, portraying “the painful journey of somebody like Gi-hun, a mean and even below-average particular person.”
Along with the social message the sequence relayed, one of many components that helped outline “Squid Sport” for viewers worldwide was its use of conventional Korean kids’s video games repurposed into brutal life-or-death challenges.
For Season 3, choosing the best video games was not a simple process, in keeping with Hwang.
“It could look like any recreation might work, however if you truly attempt to adapt it, it turns into difficult,” he stated. “It’s important to determine how gamers can be eradicated, and there must be sufficient house within the recreation to permit character dynamics and story to unfold. The foundations additionally have to be clear in order that the road between failure and success is properly outlined.”
Some video games didn’t make the minimize. Hwang recalled contemplating the sport “Why did you come to my home?” which depends closely on rock-paper-scissors and lacks narrative rigidity. One other thought concerned tying gamers to a conveyor belt in “Open the Dongdaemun gate,” however he finally rejected it because of the extreme randomness and lack of character company.
One recreation that did survive growth was tag, reimagined as a direct battle-to-the-death between contestants.
“Just like the marble recreation in episode 4 of Season 1, I wished the fourth recreation this time to hold essentially the most emotional weight — a life-or-death second for the characters. That’s why I added the factor of killing: to intensify the dramatic rigidity.”
The finale additionally featured a shock look by Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, who performs a recruiter conducting a recreation of ddakji with new candidates within the US. Hwang stated casting Blanchett was a deliberate selection aimed toward flipping the script.
“Because the particular person enjoying the ddakji recreation in Korea was a person (Gong Yoo), I believed it might be fascinating to have a feminine character seem on the finish within the US,” he stated.
“I used to be considering, it is such a short scene, who’s the actress who can charismatically command the display screen in that brief period of time? She’s somebody I’ve all the time admired, and I believed she was the right match for the function. Our CEO and producers agreed, so we reached out to her.”
The US-based ultimate scene and Blanchett’s cameo sparked rumors of an American remake or sequel, however Hwang dismissed the hypothesis.
As for the way forward for the franchise, Hwang left the door open for potential spinoffs quite than direct sequels.
“I’ve already conveyed all of the messages I wished to share on this season, so persevering with the primary story wouldn’t be significant,” he famous.
“If something, it might make extra sense to hold on with a by-product or aspect story. For instance, one thing just like the non-public lives of the masked figures. Bear in mind the picture discovered at Captain Park’s home with the Entrance Man? It was only a enjoyable little Easter egg we included, however wouldn’t it’s fascinating to discover what sort of relationship they’d and what occurred between them?”
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