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Revenge will be in the air in the hotly anticipated second season of Squid Game, the TV show’s creator Hwang Dong-hyuk says, promising a bigger cast of characters and more absorbing challenges than the original.

Attending the first global promotional event for the new season in the Tuscan city of Lucca, Hwang told Reuters a third edition of the Korean drama was already in post-production, and hinted an English-language version may be in the offing too.

The first season of Squid Game became Netflix’s most watched series of all time when it was released in 2021.

Hwang went on to win an Emmy for outstanding directing for a drama series, while Lee Jung-jae scored a best actor in a drama Emmy Award. Both were the first Asians to take home those titles and the first for a non-English language series.

Given the huge viewing figures, the dystopian show was inevitably renewed and is due to hit the streaming service on December 26, with the third and final instalment set for rollout in 2025.

“In season two, Gi-hun (played by Lee), who survived season one, returns to the games, not to win this time around, but to put an end to these games,” said Hwang, the show’s writer, director and producer.

“There is going to be a larger number of characters this time and more intriguing games that are all worthy of a lot of the viewers’ love and support,” he said.

The thriller series follows cash-strapped contestants who take part in deadly survival challenges featuring childhood games for a chance to win a fortune. The new season takes place three years after the events of the first and sees Lee’s character Seong Gi-hun returning to the life-or-death game with new participants.

Also attending the Lucca Comics & Games event, Lee told Reuters there was pressure to improve on the original, adding that his character, a former gambling addict, is a changed man.

“Gi-hun is a very different person in season two. This time around he wants revenge. He wants to catch the people behind the games and he wants to bring them to justice,” he said.

The Hollywood news site Deadline, reported this week that US director David Fincher, who made the 1999 hit Fight Club, was working on an English-language version of Squid Game for Netflix.

“I don’t think it’s official yet, so I cannot tell much about it. But, you know, I respect him as a filmmaker and creator,” Hwang said when asked about the report.

“So if he does it, you know, I’m looking forward to seeing it, watching it.”

Cover photo: Netflix