Squid Game creator revealed his big plans for the final season of the Netflix series

Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has confirmed that season 3 will bring the hit Netflix series to a dramatic conclusion—and if you thought the previous games were deadly, just wait until you see the final round. After leaving fans dangling off a psychological cliff in season 2, Hwang promises a finale that doesn’t just raise the stakes but flips the entire board.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on January 2, 2024, Hwang revealed:

“I wrote seasons two and three back-to-back, we filmed them back-to-back, and it’s currently in post. It’s going to arrive sometime in 2025.”

That’s right—the end is near, but what kind of ending? Will Gi-hun climb out of the labyrinth or dig himself deeper?

Hwang also teased an emotional rollercoaster that pulls no punches.

“The third season will really explore that sense of loss and failure, that guilt weighing so heavily on Gi-hun,” he explained.

Sounds like the games won’t just be physical this time. Is Gi-hun about to face a showdown with his own soul?

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Ready, set, leak—Netflix flips the hourglass

The internet exploded after Netflix Korea accidentally (or intentionally?) dropped what might be the release date for Squid Game Season 3. The deleted post claimed June 27, 2025, as the big day. The caption read:

[Squid Game, watch it on Netflix on June 27: https://www.netflix.com/title/81615967

#SquidGame3

Subscribe to the Netflix channel: https://vo.la/j7zAG

https://www.youtube.com/@NetflixKorea]

Slip-up or strategy? Fans are already dissecting the post like players hunting clues in Ddakji. Could this leak have been Netflix's way of setting the countdown clock ticking? Or is the real game trying to figure out whether we’ve been played?

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Gi-hun’s guilt trip—no exits in sight

Lee Jung-jae’s Gi-hun walked into season 2 with hope and walked out with blood on his hands. Instead of running, he stayed. Instead of freedom, he chose obsession. Now, season 3 will push him even further into the shadows of the Squid Game universe.

Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed:

“I see the third season as being the finale to this story. 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.”

But what kind of closure comes from playing a game that never seems to end? Can Gi-hun win without becoming everything he hates? And if survival has a price, how much more is he willing to pay?

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Jack and Jill climbed the hill—and crumbled

The arrival of Cheol-su, Young-hee’s male counterpart, takes Squid Game's terror to new heights—and we all know what happens to people who climb too high. Like Jack and Jill, Cheol-su and Young-hee seem innocent at first glance, but their story might end in betrayal, broken bonds, and a deadly tumble.

Hwang’s comment that

“The third season will really explore that sense of loss and failure, that guilt weighing so heavily on Gi-hun,”

fits this twisted nursery rhyme perfectly. Will players need to team up to survive? Or will alliances collapse under pressure?

The teaser poster hints at chaos. Young-hee and Cheol-su loom like grim reapers, casting shadows darker than ever. And if the mid-credits scene from season 2 is any clue, the games are about to get a lot bloodier.

Will Cheol-su double the danger, or is there more to him than meets the glassy, robotic eye?

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Lessons from the borderland

No, Alice in Borderland didn’t copy Squid Game. And no, the latter didn't copy Alice in Borderland. These two death-match juggernauts are more like cousins in carnage than rivals. But with both returning in 2025, the comparison is impossible to avoid.

While Squid Game has always been about economic despair and power struggles, Alice in Borderland dived headfirst into puzzles and existential dread. Now, with Squid Game getting more philosophical and Alice in Borderland continuing its mind games, are we about to see their themes cross paths?

Both series include transgender characters, proving that representation can thrive even in dystopia. And both tackle the cost of survival, identity, and what it means to play by someone else’s rules. But if Squid Game was built on reality, Alice in Borderland leans into unreality. What happens when those worlds start looking eerily similar?

And let’s not forget their shared ancestor—Battle Royale. Before Alice in Borderland and Squid Game took us into their arenas, Battle Royale set the stage for survival thrillers drenched in blood and moral chaos. Maybe the real question is: how far have we come since then? Or are we just running in circles, trying to survive the same game with new rules?

Are we heading for a 2025 survival-thriller showdown, or is Netflix simply giving us two different flavors of terror?

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Spinning off into darker depths?

Hwang hasn’t ruled out expanding the Squid Game universe.

“If I ever wanted to go back to the world of Squid Game, it would be about different characters with a different story arc. Some kind of spinoff, maybe. For example, the masked guards. How did they end up here? What do they do in their downtime?”

Spinoffs could dig into the secrets behind the masks, revealing the system that keeps the games running. Or maybe the organizers aren’t as untouchable as they seem? Could the future of Squid Game involve flipping the rules and making the powerful play?

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The game is far from over—or is it?

Whether Cheol-su and Young-hee stand as symbols of partnership or power struggles, their presence promises a more treacherous and emotionally charged season. Squid Game season 3 appears poised to test the limits of morality, loyalty, and survival in ways that echo real-world inequalities and systems of oppression.

Hwang has already remarked that season 3 will explore guilt weighing in on Gi-hun. But what’s heavier—guilt or survival?

One thing’s for sure: the stakes have never been higher. And in the world of Squid Game, losing isn’t just part of the game—it’s the end of it.