Squid Game season 3: Release date, cast, plot, spoilers and more
27 December 2024, 14:59
When does Squid Game season 3 come out? Netflix have confirmed it'll be released in 2025 – here's everything we know about it so far.
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If you've just finished Squid Game season 2 and are now wondering just how long you'll have to wait until we find out what happens next, we have great news. Squid Game season 3 has already been filmed and will be released on Netflix in 2025.
In case you missed it, Netflix previously confirmed that Squid Game season 3 will be the third and final season of the K-drama series.
Squid Game season 2's ending might leave fans on a cliffhanger but it also sets up the third season for what is bound to be an absolutely killer finale. Lee Jung-jae's Gi-hun and Lee Byung-hun's Front Man are now set for a dramatic showdown as several other key storylines begin to reach their conclusion... but how will it all end? And when will it drop on Netflix?
Here's everything you need to know about Squid Game season 3 including the potential release date and which cast members will return.
- Read more: Who is 001 in Squid Game season 2? His real identity explained
- Read more: Does Player 456 die in Squid Game season 2? How Gi-hun's ending sets up season 3
Will there be a Squid Game season 3?
When does Squid Game season 3 come out on Netflix?
Squid Game’s third and final season will drop on Netflix in 2025. No exact release date has been confirmed yet, but it looks like fans won't have to wait as long as they did for the wait between seasons 1 and 2.
Squid Game season 3 has already been filmed. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, creator and writer Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed that he is "nearly done with the editing portion of season 3" which means season 3 could arrive towards the middle of the year. Although, that's purely speculation for now.
In an interview with Variety, Hwang also shared that season 3 would be released around summer/fall 2025.
"After Season 2 launches, I believe we will be announcing the launch date for Season 3 soon," he told the outlet. "I probably expect that to launch around summer or fall next year."
Will Squid Game season 3 be the final season?
Yep, Squid Game season 3 has been confirmed as the third and final season, and will bring Gi-hun's story to a close.
Series director, writer, and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed the news in a letter to fans, saying: “I am beyond excited to be writing this letter to announce the date for Season 2 and share the news of Season 3, the final season. The fierce clash between [Gi-hun and Front Man’s] two worlds will continue into the series finale with Season 3, which will be brought to you next year.”
“I am thrilled to see the seed that was planted in creating a new Squid Game grow and bear fruit the end of this story,” Hwang wrote. “We’ll do our best to make sure we bring you yet another thrill ride.”
Explaining why he decided to end the series with the third season, Hwang told The Hollywood Reporter: "When I was thinking about the idea for the ending of season three, I think it sort of naturally came to me that this was the finale," he explained.
"I believed that with that story, I was able to tell everything that I wanted to tell through the story of Squid Game and also in the perspective of Gi-hun as a character, and I thought that we don’t need any further stories from here."
WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for Squid Game season 2 ending!
Squid Game season 3 plot: What will happen in Squid Game season 3?
In the final episode of Squid Game season 2, Gi-hun and his allies leverage the commotion caused by a huge fight in the dorm in order to stage a coup. The group manage to overpower the guards as soon as the fighting starts and begin their mission to infiltrate the Front Man's quarters.
Of course, their whole plan soon comes crumbling down when they run out of ammunition and end up being completely outnumbered. Not only that, but the Front Man (In-ho, known to the players as Young-il) is pretending to be one of them.
After a lengthy shoot-out, Gi-hun and Jung-bae end up being scammed by Young-il (In-ho) just as they're about to break into the Front Man's quarters. He walks back down the stairs dressed in his Front Man uniform, kills Jung-bae and captures Gi-hun. The season ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.
Squid Game season 3 will likely pick up where season 2 left off. Hwang Dong-hyuk has already confirmed that the confrontation between Gi-hun and the Front Man will continue into season 3. It now seems like Gi-hun's only way out is through Jun-ho.
Detective Hwang Jun-ho, brother of In-ho, spent season 2 trying to locate the mysterious island. When the credits roll on season 2, he still hasn't found it... yet. Season 3 will likely see him arrive on the island and confront his brother once again.
In the actual compound, the players who were part of the coup have now surrendered to the guards. The rest of the players are all still in the dorm.
The mid-credits scene in episode 7 confirms that the games continue beyond Gi-hun being captured. Speaking to Variety, Hwang Dong-hyuk teased: "If you saw the hidden clip after the ending credits roll after the last episode of Season 2 — if you watch that clip, it’s going to give you a slight hint as to where Season 3 might take you."
Only three of the six games have been played so far. The mid-credits scene teases players entering the arena with two giant dolls and a new variant of 'Red Light, Green Light'.
Watch Squid Game season 2 trailer
Elsewhere in the interview, Hwang teased that Gi-hun "will not be the man he was in Season 2".
"But as for the storyline of the third season, Gi-hun having lost everything, including his best friend, and all of his attempts going to failure, it’s now, what is he going to be like?" he said.
"What state is Gi-hun going to be in? And what will he choose to do? Will he continue on with the mission? Is he going to give up or persist? And so you’re going to meet our character Gi-hun at a very critical crossroads as we begin the third season."
Squid Game season 3 cast: Who will return?
As expected, Squid Game season 2 was quite the blood bath. Throughout the games, several key characters ended up dying in the games and in the huge fight in the final two episodes. (RIP Thanos!)
It looks like Squid Game season 3 will pick up directly after season 2 ends so the key returning cast members will likely include:
- Gi-hun (Player 456)
- Yong-sik (Player 007)
- Geum-ja (Player 149)
- Hyun-ju (Player 120)
- Jun-hee (Player 222)
- Myung-gi (Player 333)
- Dae-ho (Player 388)
- Jun-ho (the detective)
- In-ho (a.k.a. the Front Man, 'Young-il', Player 001)
Players 096, 100 and 353 can be seen entering the arena in the mid-credits scene.
How many episodes will Squid Game season 3 have?
It's currently unclear how many episodes Squid Game season 3 will consist of, but it's possible that it may be of a similar length to season 2. There's no confirmation of that yet, though.
Squid Game season 2 is three episodes shorter than season 1, which had 10 episodes. The shorter season was because creator Hwang originally wrote the story of season 2 and 3 as one long arc. Instead of packing the full story into those 10 episodes, he cut it at a pivotal point for Gi-hun and carried the remaining part of the story over into season 3.
Season 3 has to wrap up several storylines, including Jun-ho's mission to find the island, Gi-hun's mission to destroy the games, Front Man's mission to stop Gi-hun and Jun-ho... and of course, there's still three games to play and hundreds of players still in the game.
With all of that in mind, Squid Game season 3 could have around 7 episodes but it all depends on how Hwang has gone about structuring the conclusion of the series. We'll update this article as soon as we know more.
Is there a Squid Game season 3 trailer yet?
There's currently no trailer for Squid Game season 3 just yet, but it might not be that far off considering the final season has already been filmed and is almost fully edited.
Bookmark this page and we'll update it as soon as the first Squid Game season 3 teaser drops.
Read more about Squid Game here:
- Who is Front Man in Squid Game? His identity revealed
- Squid Game prize money converted from Won to USD: How much is 45.6 billion won?
- Squid Game creator reveals why Gi-hun dyed his hair red
- 15 genius Squid Game season 1 easter eggs you probably missed the first time around
- Squid Game theory about Gi-hun and the Old Man will make you rethink everything
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