In The Hot Mic podcast, well-connected Hollywood insiders Jeff Sneider and John Rocha share the latest facts and rumors from the movie and TV industry. In the latest episode, Sneider brought some particularly exciting news to the table: He heard that Netflix is working on an American version of the South Korean mega hit’Squid game” work.
He doesn’t have any concrete information on what this American remake should look like, but Jeff Sneider did provide some possible reasons why the streaming service is already planning a remake, even though the highly anticipated season 2 of the original “Squid Game” is in the works and series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed that even season 3 is already under negotiation.
Is Netflix getting impatient?
One factor could very well be that Season 2 of Squid Game is so long overdue. We remember: in the beginning, Hwang Dong-hyuk was not even against a sequel at all because the work on season 1 had cost him so much time and nerves. In the end, he gave in to the pressure, as he himself put it, and agreed to season 2 – which will probably not be released until late 2024 on Netflix because Hwang Dong-hyuk needs time for development.
Sneider said there must be a lot of pressure on Netflix to continue with the hit franchise and that everyone is “waiting for this one guy”. Sneider recalled how long it took Hwang Dong-hyuk to get Season 1 off the ground – that was more than a decade, but of course that’s an unfair comparison, because a lot of those years went primarily to the idea of the series to sell to a studio.
Nevertheless: maybe the breaks between the seasons are too long for Netflix, one can at least speculate according to the statements of Jeff Sneider. And that would implicitly mean that Netflix the US remake of “Squid Game” may even want to launch before season 2 of the original.
Universe “Squid Game” possible
On the podcast The hot microphone the duo also spoke about the fact that Netflix could also be interested in implementing an English-language version of the successful format, as it probably is an audience that does not watch non-English language productions.
“Squid Game” is the most successful Netflix series of all time. Season 2 will see the return of Lee Jung-jae as main character Gi-hun and Lee Byung-hun as the dreaded frontman, among others. With the format proving to be so incredibly successful for Netflix, there’s been speculation for some time that the streaming service could be planning an entire “Squid Game” universe.