If you thought Season 1 and 2 of Squid Game were intense, you haven’t seen anything yet. The beloved Netflix drama is returning for Season 3 — and this time, those of you who are afraid of heights, beware, because creator Hwang Dong-hyuk is returning to that fear in a major way.
“In Season 1, we had lots of games like Tug of War that really utilized height and the fear that this height gives, but in the case of Season 2, we didn’t have that element,” he revealed to Entertainment Weekly in a recent interview. “That is why in Season 3, I decided to introduce games that could really infuse fear in people with sheer height.”
Beyond that tidbit, we don’t know much about how height will actually be utilized in Season 3. That said, we’ve got a feeling it’s going to be beyond intense. Hwang also spoke on how the contestants of the games will really scrape the bottom of the barrel in an effort to highlight a greater message.
“In the case of Season 3, I wanted to introduce games that could really show the lowest bottom of human beings, because the series itself is reaching its climax,” he explained. “I wanted very intense games to bring out the bottom parts of human nature.”
What better time to explore that side of the games and who participates in them than the final season, which Hwang doubled down on as the actual ending to the now beloved show. “Season 3 is indeed a finale,” he told EW and added that the finale will pose the “final question” of “how we should remain humans even amidst this intense competition.”
Squid Game premiered on Netflix in September 2021 to critical and audience acclaim and went on to become the streamer’s most-watched series. The first season also won a nice batch of six Emmy awards and one Golden Globe. Season 2 premiered in December 2024, and Season 3 is slated to arrive on June 27, 2025.
Season 3 picks up where Season 2 left off, with Gi-hun (Player 456) back in the games and still determined to dismantle them once and for all — despite the harrowing events of the previous season.
Here’s the official blurb from Netflix:
A failed rebellion, the death of a friend, and a secret betrayal. Picking up in the aftermath of Season 2’s bloody cliffhanger, the third and final season of Netflix’s most popular series finds Gi-hun, a.k.a. Player 456, at his lowest point yet. But the Squid Game stops for no one, so Gi-hun will be forced to make some important choices in the face of overwhelming despair as he and the surviving players are thrust into deadlier games that test everyone’s resolve. With each round, their choices lead to increasingly grave consequences. Meanwhile, In-ho resumes his role as Front Man to welcome the mysterious VIPs, and his brother Jun-ho continues his search for the elusive island, unaware there’s a traitor in their midst. Will Gi-hun make the right decisions, or will Front Man finally break his spirit?
Squid Game Season 2 ends on a cliffhanger that sets up Season 3. Be sure to check out our Squid Game Season 2 review to find out what we think of the show.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
