Squid Game creator explains why show is ending with season 3

7 January 2025, 15:37

Why Squid Game is ending with season 3. Picture: Netflix

By Katie Louise Smith

Squid Game season 3 will be the final season of the Netflix show and it's ending for a very specific reason.

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After two absolutely record-breaking seasons, Squid Game will end with season 3.

The final season of the Netflix series will be dropping at some point this year, and will see the dramatic conclusion to the big showdown between Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho, the Front Man (a.k.a. Player 001).

Teasing the "chaotic" ending on the red carpet at the Golden Globes (Jan 5), creator Hwang Dong-hyuk told Deadline: "It's the greatest one. It's a crazy crazy season. It's the best season finale..."

Series star Lee Jung-jae also said there would be "more twist and turns, and more conflict" in season 3, and that fans "won't know where we're taking you."

But why is the successful series ending so soon? After only 3 seasons and less than 30 episodes? Here's what Hwang has revealed...

Read more: Squid Game season 3 release date window confirmed by creator
Read more: Why Squid Game season 2 was split into two seasons by the creator

Why is Squid Game ending with season 3?

Squid Game season 3 will see the final showdown between Gi-hun and the Front Man. Picture: Netflix

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Hwang explained the reason why he's decided to write season 3 as a definitive ending to the series.

"Personally, I see the third season as being the finale to this story," he said. "That’s because I believe I’ve had closure to the story I wanted to tell about society through the character of Seong Gi-hun. If I ever wanted to go back to the world of Squid Game, it would be about different characters with a different story arc."

Hwang went on to add that while Gi-hun's story is over, he'd be open to writing spin-offs: "For example, the masked guards. How did they end up here? What do they do in their downtime? Something like that, maybe."

The Squid Game universe is already set to expand with David Fincher's own English-language version of Squid Game that will take place in the US. The series is currently in development and does not currently have a release date.

Squid Game post-credits scene teases new season 3 game

In case you missed it, Hwang has already revealed that season 2 was meant to be written as one season but it ended up being far too long. As a result, the season was split into two which is why we're now getting a third season.

In an interview with Variety, the creator explained: "I was originally planning to write this story across a span of about eight to nine episodes, but once I finished the story, it came to over 10 episodes, which I thought was too long to contain in a single season.

"And so I wanted to have an adequate point where I could give closure as a second season and then move on with the third."

Squid Game season 3 is set to be released between summer and fall this year but no exact date has been confirmed yet.