How much is 45.6 billion won worth, really? Is it enough to keep people in a dangerous game, or enough to keep a showrunner interested in masterminding endless seasons of a successful TV show? After season two of Squid Game premiered in December, we got an answer for both questions. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed the fate of the Squid Game series and when and how it will wrap up in a neat (and bloody) bow: Netflix’s South Korean hit will officially conclude with season three, premiering June 27, 2025. And we’ve already got two trailers. What else do you need to know?
About $31 million.
Netflix has been fairly vague about the specifics, but we know Gi-hun is back in the game after his failed rebellion last season. “Season 3 explores the choices Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) will make amidst overwhelming despair,” Netflix shared on January 30. “As the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) plots his next move, the surviving players find their decisions leading to increasingly dire consequences with each round of the deadly games.” With the season is approaching, the streamer’s latest description confirms that Front Man will once again “welcome the mysterious VIPs,” while Jun-ho “continues his search for the elusive island, unaware there’s a traitor in their midst.”
We don’t know about adding new humans this late in the game, but we’re getting a new freaky robot doll. In a January 1 teaser for season three, Netflix showed off Chul-su, the new bombshell in the villa doll in the game. And it’s a meet cute between him and Young-hee, a.k.a. Chantal!
While the Pink Soldiers aren’t new, the dance skills they displayed at a recent Tudum event definitely took us by surprise.
Three of the four images are just single-character shots. However, one heartbreaking pic shows multiple contestants hovering over a coffin with a pink bow on it. Never has the color pink been so insidious.
The latest trailer reminds us of the blood-stained path that Player 456 took to get here — flashing back to the people like Ali, Sae-byeok, and Sang-woo who didn’t make it with him. Meanwhile, even after his failed rebellion attempt in season two, Gi-hun’s still got at least one supporter: “I still believe that you came here to save us all,” Geum-ja tells him. Any chance that the shot of her looking distressed is actually of her experiencing happy tears? Unclear, but her fellow players seem stressed. The VIPs arrive, a jump rope appears to be flinging people to their deaths, Hyun-ju is holding her own in hand-to-hand combat, Jun-hee is crying, and Gi-hun is grabbing the barrel of a gun and putting it on his forehead. Player 456 is as committed as ever to ending the game, and it seems like he might not have to find Front Man himself. “Player 456,” a Pink Soldier says. “He wants to see you.”
In the previous trailer, demands, “Why didn’t you kill me?” Young-hee the giant doll presides over the deadly game of jump rope, and bloody bodies begin to pile up. In another game in an area with colorful, child-like drawings on the walls, Hyun-ju flips a player to the ground. Emotions seem to be running high for everyone, and at one point, Gi-hun literally comes for Seon-nyeo’s neck while handcuffed to a bed. It seems like he makes it to the finalists’ dinner again, given that he suits up by the end of the trailer. While we don’t see a full scene of Gi-hun realizing the Front Man’s true identity, we do hear In-ho address him and ask, “Do you still have faith in people?”
Yes. Dong-hyuk confirmed in a letter to fans that season three is the final season of the series, promising a final battle with a clear winner. He writes, “Seong Gi-hun who vowed revenge at the end of Season 1 returns and joins the game again. Will he succeed in getting his revenge? Front Man doesn’t seem to be an easy opponent this time either. The fierce clash between their two worlds will continue into the series finale with Season 3, which will be brought to you next year.”
After waiting over three years for a second season to come out, there’s only six months before the conclusion. Season three will premiere on June 27, 2025. That’s one way to end Pride Month.