How long did it take to make Squid Game?

Netflix’s most watched TV show Squid Game may be all the world can talk about right now, but for director Hwang Dong-hyuk, it was no overnight success.

The gritty survival show has just been renewed for a second season. While the makers were originally unwilling, the massive success has convinced them, and fans can’t wait.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, in a recent interview with AP Entertainment, confirmed the second season. The director revealed that the overwhelming amount of love and support that Squid Game's first season received has left him with no choice but to produce a second. Season 2 was, he claimed, "in his head" at the time:

“So there has been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season. So I almost feel like you leave us no choice. But I will say that there will indeed be a Season 2. It’s in my head right now.”

I’m in the planning process currently. But I do think it is too early to say when and how that’s going to happen. So I will promise you this.”

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When was Squid Game filmed?

Squid Game might have received critical acclaim, but it is director Hwang Dong-hyuk's struggle to get the show out into the world that makes its success all the more remarkable.

Hwang Dong-hyuk began working on Squid Game in 2008, and the first draft was completed in 2009. Reportedly, the first two episodes alone took him over six months to complete and it had been an uphill battle for the director since then to get the green light for the project.

In an interview with RadioTimes, Hwang Dong-hyuk had said:

“I was reading a lot of comic books, and I finished the script in 2009. At the time, it seemed very unfamiliar and violent. There were people who thought it was a little too complex and not commercial. I wasn’t able to get enough investment and casting was difficult. I dabbled in it for about a year, but I had to put it to sleep then.”

Ironically, Hwang Dong-hyuk himself was having financial difficulties and had to sell his $675 laptop. Squid Game, which was originally supposed to be a film, had to be temporarily abandoned by the director.

Hwang Dong-hyuk then moved on to feature films, directing blockbusters such as The Crucible and The Fortress. Miss Granny, his comedy musical, is regarded as one of the most successful Korean films of all time.

Despite the director's prior success in the film industry, it wasn't until Netflix entered the picture that he was able to make Squid Game on his own terms. Hwang Dong-hyuk said:

"I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life. But I wanted it to use the kind of characters we've all met in real life."

Netflix only became interested in the project — which was initially titled Round Six after the numbers of children's games featured on the show — in 2019. Squid Game's casting was completed in June 2020. While the exact dates of the shoot is unknown, it appears to have taken place around the second half of 2020.

The director has expressed gratitude to Netflix for supporting Squid Game. He stated:

“Thanks to Netflix, there was no limit and I was given creative freedom to work as I wanted to.”

While no one knows for sure when Season 2 of Squid Game will be released, fans should not expect it before 2023. Regardless, all eyes are sure to be on Netflix’s most successful show, and the trajectory the makers take for the next season.