After a painfully long wait, Squid Game season 2 finally landed on Netflix the day after Christmas 2024. However, many fans were surprised to learn that there were only seven episodes, with some even questioning if more would be on the way in a part 2. Well, we're here to let those fans know that that won't be the case. Squid Game season 2 part 2 is not happening, but it's not all bad news.
A Squid Game season 3 has already been confirmed. In fact, its renewal was announced back in July 2024 alongside the announcement of the season 2 premiere date. This means we will see Gi-hun's story continue, as well as every other character who managed to make it to the end of the season 2 finale.
Without spoiling anything, things didn't end well for Gi-hun at the end of Squid Game season 2. He lost someone very dear to him, and his plan to rebel against the Front Man didn't go smoothly either. Now, we're left wondering how he will manage in the upcoming third season. There were also some side storylines that weren't wrapped up at the end of season 2, so we're looking forward to seeing how those conclude next season as well.
Sadly, Squid Game season 3 will be the horror show's final season. This sad news was announced when the show was renewed for a third season. It's unknown how many episodes will make up the last season, but we highly doubt there will be fewer than seven. Once we know the total episode count, we'll tell you right away.
Why was Squid Game season 2 only seven episodes?
Since Squid Game season 1 had nine episodes, it makes sense that people are wondering why the second season had two fewer episodes. We've seen this happen many times in the past with Netflix shows, and usually, the streaming giant makes this decision. However, in Squid Game's case, it was the creator who decided to shorten the second season.
Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk spoke with Deadline ahead of the season 2 premiere and shared his reasoning for making the second season shorter than the first. He told the news outlet that while writing the second and third seasons at the same time, he came to a "big turning point" in the scripts, and he thought it was the perfect place to stop. That turning point ended up being at the end of episode 7 of season 2. He thought he'd save the rest of the story for a third installment.
"I wrote seasons two and three at the same time, and we were in production for both simultaneously, and currently we are in the post-production process for Season 3. When I was writing the script for the two seasons, I felt like there was a big turning point or an inflection point, and that was the end of episode seven, so I thought that it would do it justice to have a separate season after that. That’s why I had first seven episodes as Season 2 and then the rest of Season 3." - Hwang Dong-hyuk
Although Squid Game season 3 does not yet have an official release date, Hwang has revealed a release window in a new interview with Variety. He told the news outlet that he believes Netflix will be announcing the release date for season 3 soon now that season 2 is out. He even gives a predicted release window of summer or fall 2025.
Of course, we'd rather see the third season in the summer over the fall, but we could see Netflix holding its release until the fall if there's already a bunch of shows lined up for the summer. The second and third seasons were filmed back to back, and the new episodes are currently being edited in post-production. Once Netflix makes its big announcement about the Squid Game season 3 release date, you'll be the first to know. So, make sure to stay tuned to 1428 Elm, as we'll continue to keep you updated!