Squid Game’s original plan would have been very different than the one we had

Squid game became a massive hit when it debuted on Netflix in 2021 and Season 2 continued its unprecedented success, but the project’s original plan meant the franchise looked almost entirely different. As the impact of COVID-19 makes streaming services more popular than ever, Hwang Dong-hyuk’s thriller series surprised everyone and became one of the most talked about series of the year. It seemed almost impossible to repeat the popularity of the first appearance, but Squid game Season 2 broke Netflix viewership records and made the IP one of the biggest in Netflix history.

With two incredible parts in the books, Squid game Season 3 has been confirmed and will be released in 2025 to conclude the gripping story. Netflix has had many other popular K-dramas over the years such as: We are all dead And kingdombut none have reached the height of Squid game. The thriller inspired a game show and brought in a collaboration Call of dutyand there’s even an American version that David Fincher is working on; However, the original plan for the project sounded completely different than what we had, which made the trip all the more interesting.

Hwang Dong-hyuk originally wrote Squid Game as a film

The popular Netflix series was originally intended to have a more cinematic structure

Rather than being a televised story spanning three seasons, Squid game was originally written as a film, according to its creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. Despite the seamless transition to a television setting, Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed in an interview with ScreenRant that the events of the first season were originally planned as a feature film in 2009, before plans changed about a decade later. Although he eventually managed to adapt the content into a nine-episode series, Dong-hyuk apparently stuck with his film plans for a long time until he finalized a series approach with Netflix.

As far as the first season is concerned, I wrote the script for the feature film in 2009, which took me about eight to nine months. And then it happened later in 2019 when we changed that. I changed the script to two series of eight or nine episodes each. So if I count the time that went into developing the script, it would take over a year.

Considering that the first season ended up having around eight hours of content, it’s hard to imagine what it would have looked like if a studio had decided to greenlight the film adaptation Squid gamebut there is no doubt that there would have been some big changes. As the franchise continues to grow, there could still be a film adaptation in the future, and while we may never know what Dong-hyuk’s original vision would have looked like compared to the final product, it’s safe to say that the television format will look great given the drama and The drama worked perfectly and has twists in the plot Squid game managed to pull through.

Squid Game took 10 years to happen (but as a TV show)

Hwang Dong-hyuk stuck with Squid Game and eventually turned it into one of Netflix’s biggest series

In view of this, Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote Squid gameAlthough he had already written the original script in 2009, his admission that plans changed in 2019 shows how long it took for the project to move forward. Dong-hyuk has previously mentioned that studios frequently shot down his plans for a decade, but the creator remained resilientwhich led to the thriller finally being developed into a TV show. Although the long process will undoubtedly have been stressful for the brain behind it Squid gameGiven its longevity and spin-off potential, turning it into a series probably worked out better.

Related

Is Squid Game Season 2 better than Season 1?

With all episodes of Squid Game season 2 available to stream on Netflix, debate has begun about how the new season compares to its predecessor.

Next to David Fincher’s reported American Squid game With a remake, the original series could easily have spin-offs starring certain characters or possibly prequels focusing on other games, meaning the franchise potential is endless. A movie arguably could have achieved this, but Season 1 perfectly set up the future of the IP, and with streaming being so popular at the time of its release, Dong-hyuk’s project couldn’t have asked for a better fate.

All the cancellations and changes to the script paid off in the long run Squid game Becoming one of the biggest shows of the 2020s, Dong-hyuk made the right decision by not giving up on its thought-provoking story.

“Squid Game” would have been very different as a film in the 2010s

The tone and pacing probably would have been different from the Netflix show

Had Squid game When the film was released back in the 2010s, it would have looked very different from the iconic Netflix series. The biggest difference would have been the length of the project, because even if it was a long feature film with a total length of around three hours, that would still be less than half of what the first season offered. The story probably would have focused mostly on the games, with only a small portion of the action taking place outside of the private island. This would have given Gi-hun less development and probably changed the tone a bit since the plot would have been more condensed.

Or maybe there were fewer games and main characters to focus on The idea of ​​rich VIPs exploiting the poor would almost certainly have remained at the core of the story. Still, the pacing would have to be much quicker to pull it all off in one film, meaning the twists and surprises wouldn’t have quite the same impact. A cinematic version of Squid game It still feels realistic and Hwang Dong-hyuk probably had some strong ideas, but given how well the Netflix series did, it’s hard to imagine a film that tops the version we ultimately got.

In Squid Game, a mysterious invitation to participate in a competition is sent to vulnerable people in desperate need of money. 456 participants from all walks of life are locked in a secret location where they play games to win 45.6 billion won. The games are chosen from traditional Korean children’s games such as Red Light and Green Light, but the consequence of defeat is death. To survive, competitors must choose their alliances carefully – but the further they advance in the competition, the more likely treachery is to rear its ugly head.

Release date

September 17, 2021

Pour

Wi Ha-joon, Anupam Tripathi, Oh Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Park Hae-soo, Jung Ho-yeon, Lee Jung-jae, Kim Joo-ryoung

Seasons

2

Showrunner

Hwang Dong-hyuk