Major Hollywood actors including Leonardo DiCaprio will “probably” become part of Squid Game if there is a third season, according to the show’s Emmy-winning director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who said Netflix has upped budget for season two and he has now settled on the games.
The director of Netflix’s most-watched show of all time was taking part in a special Squid Game Emmy-winning press conference following the Korean show’s record haul of six wins and Hwang said DiCaprio has “said he is a big fan many times.”
“Maybe if time allows and if chances allow we should ask him to join the game,” said Hwang. “We have already joked about that.”
For season two, Hwang admitted Hollywood actors are “not in my plan” as the series will again be set in Korea, but if a third season is greenlit he said this will “probably change,” conceding that many other Hollywood stars have said they loved the show.
Netflix has upped the budget for season two, revealed Hwang, who is in the midst of writing. It will enter production next year and air in 2024.
Hwang has now decided which games will feature in the second season but wouldn’t give any away, and he urged the media to keep the games to themselves if they find out.
“I beg you not to write articles about the games because the audience needs to feel the suspense and thrill of what’s coming next,” he said, before jokingly adding: “If I get too drunk and babble, I ask you to suffocate me to stop me from giving spoilers.”
Hwang said he is “feeling the pressure” after season one’s stellar performance but this is acting as “motivation.”
Reflecting on the success of Korean TV, movies and music more generally, he said the nation has always “had an eye on the global market when creating things and that has blossomed into something wonderful.”
Lead actor Lee Jung-jae, who also won an Emmy, beamed into the conference via video link from TIFF where he is promoting upcoming movie Hunt.
Lee said he is “striving hard to make more exciting content” and that the second and, hopefully, third season of Squid Game will “give more opportunities to remarkable filmmakers and actresses.”
