Squid Game Season 2 may feel like it was released a lifetime ago, but the wider Squid Game Cinematic Universe (definitely not a thing, by the way) is just getting started.
We know for certain that we’re getting Squid Game Season 3 at some point this year and that David Fincher is supposedly working on an English language spin-off of some sort. Yet, there are more Squid Game-related projects in consideration.
In fact, during an interview with THR, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyu opened up about what other stories he can tell in this grim universe, and two characters have caught his attention.
“One of the ideas I’m tossing around is what happened between Seasons 1 and 2,” Hwang said. “There’s a three-year gap. So, for example, what was the Front Man doing during those three years? What was the Recruiter doing? When I have some downtime, I like to just toss some ideas around and go wild with my imagination. So I guess we can be open to anything.”
“You can only have one”
I can’t lie: one of those ideas sounds great, and the other sounds seriously dull. And I’m sorry, I know people love the Front Man, but I don’t necessarily need to see any more of him. After all, Squid Game Season 2 gave us fresh insight into the character and his motivations, and we’ll likely learn more about him in Season 3.
The Recruiter, though? Well, that’s a guy I want to know more about. How did he get this job? Why does he enjoy taunting the homeless? How did he get so good at Ddakji? Ok, maybe that last one isn’t a particularly interesting question; my point is, however, that the Recruiter seemed fanatically loyal to the games, and I want to know why.
Hwang Dong-hyuk has said in the past that he believes the Recruiter is motivated by some strange form of self-loathing.
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“I believe that Gong Yoo’s character [the Salesman] is someone who lived a difficult, tough, rock-bottom life, just as much as those that are depicted as the homeless people in the series,” he told the Radio Times. “He is someone who is so filled with self-hatred; it is expressed in the hatred he harbors for other humans. And by hating these people, he believes that he is different from them.”
Indeed, we see his superiority complex during his final deadly game with Gi-hun, where he postures and argues about being better than the trash that plays the games. And yet, there’s a feeling that this smug, smiling facade is just a mask.
Gi-hun specifically calls him out on it after “winning” at Russian roulette, calling him a lap dog at the beck and call of masters who, deep down, he knows, consider him as disposable as those who play the games. Perhaps that’s why the Recruiter dies smiling; he’s finally acknowledged the irony of his work, or maybe he’s just happy that it’s finally over.
Whatever the reason, it’s clear that the Recriter is a complex character who’s driven by motivations that seem like fertile ground for a dramatic new story or mini-series set between the games. Basically, Hwang, I’m already sat on my sofa waiting for this show to be released… I just need you to make it now.
Looking for more Squid Game fun? Well, we’ve ranked every nefarious Squid Game challenge and also worked out who we think is going to die in Squid Game Season 3.
