Squid Game creator reveals what to expect from the Season 3 finale

The third, and confirmed final, season of Squid Game is almost here, set to release on June 27, 2025. And the tone has shifted. In the words of creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, as per The Guardian,

“The tone is going to be more dark and bleak.”

It wasn’t an easy process. According to him, working on this final season was physically and emotionally demanding. He even revealed to Entertainment Weekly that while working on the final season:

"I thought it was going to be okay, but this time I had to pull out two more teeth as well."

The pressure, clearly, wasn’t just narrative.

Hwang also talked about what the audience might expect from the conclusion:

“People like a happy ending. I’m like that too. But some stories, by nature, can’t have one. If you try to force one, the essence is compromised. If a story is holding up a mirror to something, then it’s not always a happy ending. Squid Game is no exception.”

The comment reflects the unapologetically grim direction the story is taking.

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A brutal narrative guided by the creator

Season 3 doesn’t aim to tie everything neatly. Instead, it digs deeper into the moral collapse of the players. As confirmed by Entertainment Weekly, the season explores “the darkest aspects of human nature,” and Hwang seems determined to make viewers question how far anyone would go to survive.

The story appears to focus less on spectacle and more on aftermath, what stays behind after the games end, and what people become in the process.

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The return of Player 456 under new rules

Gi-hun returns, but his role has changed. Now he enters the game with the intention of confronting the system. It’s not just about survival anymore; it’s about exposure. And that shift changes everything.

Actor Lee Jung-jae noted in interviews that the final arc will be intense and surprising, though much of his character’s path remains under wraps.

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Shocking new games in Season 3

The trailer released by Netflix reveals several disturbing new elements. Among them, fear-inducing, height-based games take center stage, designed to push the contestants’ physical and psychological limits. One returning element is Young-hee, joined now by her boyfriend Chul-Soo, leading a new version of a large-scale jump rope challenge.

A particularly intense moment comes with what appears to be the cry of a baby, hinting at a character giving birth during the game, an emotionally charged development noted by Entertainment Weekly.

These new trials aren’t just visually tense. They carry symbolic weight, pushing the series into more emotionally complex territory.

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Acting choices and potential spin-offs

Lee Jung-jae, who plays Gi-hun, mentioned that the ending won’t follow expectations. The character’s path moves into uncertain territory, without obvious redemption or clarity. That unpredictability might actually be what makes this season hit differently. Not knowing where it’s going, that might be the boldest choice so far.

Even if this is the end of the show as a story, Hwang Dong-hyuk didn’t exactly close the door. He’s hinted at spin-offs, maybe set somewhere between Seasons 1 and 2. Stories from the sidelines. The recruiters, the people behind the masks, the ones who keep the machine running. There's still a lot left in the shadows. These projects wouldn’t follow Gi-hun, but would deepen the world around him.

The structure of Squid Game supports expansion. From the beginning, there were signs that the visible games were only part of something much larger. Spin-offs could uncover those hidden layers without altering the original story.

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The legacy of Squid Game after its ending

Even if this chapter closes, the show may continue to echo in future projects. The ideas it introduced are far from resolved. Corruption, power imbalance, and the cost of survival are ongoing themes. The series was never just about the games. It was about what happens when life itself becomes a contest.

This final season won't offer peace or easy answers. What it brings will feel heavier. Not just in story, but in the way it risks more: emotionally, visually, maybe even structurally. It circles back to whatever made Squid Game so hard to look away from in the beginning.

With the final episodes getting closer, the show seems less focused on wrapping things up and more on leaving something behind. Not just a story, but a question that sticks: what part of the game stays with the ones who watched it play out?