Squid Game season 2: first-look, cast and everything we know so far

Squid Game season 2 masked characters
Squid Game season 2 will again see people competing in a very deadly tournament. (Image credit: Netflix)

Squid Game season 2 has officially been confirmed by Netflix and a new promo image has teased the upcoming episodes.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealed the big news via Variety, saying that the “Squid Game universe has just begun”.

Following the huge success of Squid Game season 1, it's no surprise that fans are desperate to find out what happens in the next installment of the Netflix series. And the way Netflix is talking about the universe just beginning there could be a third and fourth season too.

The series has been watched by a whopping 111 million fans globally, and it's already predicted that the outfits featured in the series will be a very popular Halloween costume choice this year!

Speaking to Radio Times, he revealed: "I do realise there are huge expectations for season two. It’s not that I haven’t thought about season two at all, and I also do have a rough framework for it. But I keep asking myself whether I can make it better than season one. I do not want people to get disappointed over the new season."

Here's everything we know about season 2 so far...

Squid Game season 2 release date

While we don't have a confirmed release date for Squid Game season 2, series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk told Deadline that he was "targeting a Halloween 2024 launch". So we'll have to wait and see!

A new statement confirming season 2 has been released and reads: "It took 12 years to bring the first season of Squid Game to life last year. But it took 12 days for Squid Game to become the most popular Netflix series ever. 

"As the writer, director and producer of Squid Game a huge shout out to fans around the world. Thank you for watching and loving our show."

During Netflix's TUDUM event, Hwang Dong-hyuk spoke to fans and said: "I’d like to thank all the Netflix fans around the world again for loving Squid Game. Please look forward to season two, which will be filled with all-new stories."

You can take a look at the unreleased clip below...

Squid Game season 2 first look

Netflix has released a first-look at the second season, with the short clip showing the only surviving player Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) seemingly going after those responsible for the games.

Take a look below...

Squid Game season 2 plot

**contains spoilers for Squid Game season 1***

At the end of the first season, we learned that the apparently innocent old man Oh Il-Nam (Player 001) was behind the games the whole time, and he didn't actually die during the events of episode 6. He was confronted by sole survivor Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) in the season finale, revealing that he created the games to entertain the bored ultra-rich like himself, where they could bet on which players would survive. It was also revealed that he took part in the games for nostalgia's sake.

Oh Il-Nam dies from his brain tumour, and Seong Gi-hun goes off to board a plane to visit his daughter. However, he spots the same man who recruited him into the games on his way to the airport, and snatches the card away from an unsuspecting citizen about to be coerced into taking part. After dialing the number, he decides not to get on the plane and heads back into the city, presumably to get his revenge on the game's creators.

With that cliffhanger ending, there's definitely room for more drama, and Hwang Dong-hyuk has suggested a second season could focus on Oh Il-Nam's backstory and the early days of the murderous games.

He said: "Oh Il-nam is a man of huge success from nothing. As we see from the phrase ‘the money man’, he is a veiled big shot in the financial industry.

"It seems, however, the way how he yearns for the happy moments of his past shows that he has lost many things including his family and his humanity at the cost of success. If there will be a season two, we might reveal a little more about his past story."

In addition to this, during an interview with People, actor Lee Jung-jae teased: "I have no idea what will happen or the scale of it, but the only thing [director Hwang] did tell me was that Seong Gi-hun is going to be in the show again, and he's going to be playing in the arena again."

Squid Game season 2 cast

So far we know that Lee Jung-Jae, Wi Ha-joon, Gong Yoo and Lee Byung-hun will be reprising their roles from season 1, and there are some new stars who will be taking on the deadly games.

The new actors include Yim Si-Wan, Kang Ha-Neul, Park Sung-Hoon and Yang Dong-Geun in as yet unnamed roles.

The news was confirmed in a social media teaser which read: "Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-Hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo will all be returning for Squid Game Season 2! And #TUDUM just revealed four new actors who will be joining the cast!"

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress