'Squid Game' Director Reveals Alternate Ending for Season 3
At one point, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had a completely different vision for the series’ final season. In a recent interview, he revealed how the story of Seong Gi-hun could have ended — warning: major spoilers ahead.
In the actual ending of Season 3, the character played by Lee Jung-jae sacrifices himself to save the newborn daughter of Player 222. As a result, the full prize of 45.6 billion won is left to the infant, whom the Frontman (played by Lee Byung-hun) later delivers to his detective brother along with a card. He then travels to Los Angeles, where he gives Gi-hun’s jacket and money to his daughter and watches as Cate Blanchett — appearing as a recruiter — enlists a new contestant for the American version of the deadly games.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Hwang Dong-hyuk explained that he initially had a much more optimistic conclusion in mind:
I don’t know if I can call it an original ending, but in the beginning I had a vague idea about how I would end the story. And back then, it was having Gi-hun end the game, in one way or another, and leave alive and go see his daughter in America.
Originally, Gi-hun was supposed to witness the recruitment scene in Los Angeles instead of the Frontman. However, as the script evolved, Hwang decided to pivot and end Gi-hun’s arc with a self-sacrifice — a final message to the world, as he described it.
All episodes of Squid Game Season 3 are now available to stream on Netflix. You can read our full impressions here.
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