After winning the first season of the Korean survival game, Lee Jung-jae reprises his role as Seong Gi-hun (player 456) in an attempt to end the wild game once and for all.

In the official trailer released on Tuesday, when asked why he is back in the arena, player 456 says: ‘I’m trying to put an end to this game.’ The fact that other players are opting out of the survival game in which contestants fight to the death for a large amount of money promises to be a major theme during the second season, which premieres on 26 December.

Netflix’s official synopsis for the second season reads: ‘Three years after winning The Squid Game, Player 456 gives up on going to America and returns with a new resolution on his mind. Gi-hun once again dives into the mysterious game of survival, starting another life-or-death game with new participants gathered to win the 45.6 billion won prize.’

The second season, which began production in July 2023, will also have Player 456 engaged in a tense confrontation with Front Man, played by Lee Byung-hun. Also returning to Squid Game for another season are Wi Ha-jun and Gong Yoo, while newcomers to the cast include Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Lee Jin-uk, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Choi Seung-hyun, Roh Jae-won, Jo Yu-ri and Won Ji-an.

Netflix’s most popular title of all time was created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, who has already announced that a final third season will premiere in 2025.

Aftermath of the first season

The first season of The Squid Game premiered worldwide on 17 September 2021 to critical and viewing success. It became Netflix’s most watched series and the most watched show in 94 countries, with 265.2 million plays and 2,205,200,000 hours played, beating series such as Stranger Things, Bridgerton, Merlina and Dahmer, among others. 

In 2021 and 2022, both the series and the actors were nominated for and won awards of all kinds. Among the awards won were:

People’s Choice Awards (2021): 

• The Bingeworthy Show of

Golden Globes (2021 – 2022):

• Best Supporting Actor – O Yeong-su

Screen Actors Guild Awards (2022): 

• Best Actor – Lee Jung-jae
• Best Actress – Hoyeon Jung
• Best ensemble performance by stuntmen in a comedy or drama series

Emmy (2022):

• Best Actor in a Drama Series – Lee Jung-jae
• Best director of a drama series – Hwang Dong-hyuk