'Squid Game' S03 arrives in 2025: What to expect
What's the story
The much-awaited third season of Netflix's global phenomenon, Squid Game, will premiere in 2025. The announcement comes after the release of the second season on December 26.
Notably, both seasons were shot together, ensuring a shorter wait for fans.
The upcoming season will wrap up Seong Gi-hun's fight against a secret organization that entices debt-ridden people into deadly games for money.
Plot continuation
'Squid Game' S03 will pick up from S02's cliffhanger
Spoilers ahead.
The third season of Squid Game is likely to pick up right after the second season's dramatic cliffhanger.
The last season ended with Gi-hun's failed revolt against the game guards, bringing him back into the deadly games.
A betrayal from within his ranks by Hwang In-ho, the game's leader masquerading as Player 001, complicates things even further.
Game continuation
S03 will feature second half of the same competition
Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed to Entertainment Weekly that the second and third seasons were originally conceived as one story but split into two due to episode length.
As the games stayed unfinished at the end of S02, viewers can expect to see the conclusion in S03.
This final season will also likely show Gi-hun and his allies' final attempt to dismantle the games.
Shooting two seasons together
S03 is currently in the post-production stage
Hwang said, "I wrote seasons two and three simultaneously and currently we are in the post-production for Season 3."
"When I was writing the script for the two seasons, I felt like there was a big turning point or an inflection point, and that was the end of episode seven, so it would do it justice to have a separate season after that."
"That's why I had first seven episodes as Season 2 and then the rest of Season 3."
New additions
'Squid Game' S03 will introduce new game and characters
The third season of Squid Game will introduce a new game revolving around another creepy doll.
This comes after the success of the "Red Light, Green Light" game from the first season, where players raced to finish without being caught by a giant rotating doll.
The show intends to introduce Cheol-su, a character frequently seen with Young-hee in old-school textbooks.
Character return
These characters will return in the final season
The third season will also witness the return of surviving players from the second season.
This includes Player 388, Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), the ex-marine; Player 222, Kim Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri), the pregnant woman; Player 007, Park Yon-sik (Yang Dong-geun) and his mother, Player 044, Jang Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim); Player 044, Seon-nyeo (Chae Kook-hee), the mystical lady; and Player 120 Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon).
Series conclusion
'Squid Game' S03 will mark the end of the series
Hwang has confirmed that the third season will be the last installment of Squid Game. He explained his decision to Entertainment Weekly, saying Gi-hun's story comes to an end in this season.
Although he said he was tired of making Squid Game, Hwang noted that Netflix could always create more spin-offs without him.
The platform already has a Squid Game-inspired reality show and video game.