Creator on Fincher Spinoff, Cate Blanchett Cameo

[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the Squid Game season three finale, “Humans are…”]

Squid Game ended with a knowing look.

The final scene of Netflix‘s No. 1 global hit series ended with a stare between the Korean series’ antagonist, The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), and an unexpected character — a Los Angeles recruiter for an American version of the deadly Squid Games, played by the Oscar-winning Cate Blanchett in a casting coup.

There have been circulating reports that filmmaker David Fincher is set to make an English-language version of Squid Game, though sources have told The Hollywood Reporter that the cliffhanger ending of the series is not intended to set up any future stories “at this time,” and Netflix has not commented.

When speaking with series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk for the second time about the third and final season of his mega-hit thriller (the finale was not screened for press; see our first conversation here), Hwang clarified for THR that he did not write this ending with the sole intention of leaving the door open for an American spinoff.

Whether or not that does happen (he says he would certainly watch a Fincher take), Hwang had a very specific message that he hoped to get across to viewers with the final scene of the series. He elaborates on that below, while also revealing why he cast Blanchett in the key role, how he changed the ending from his original idea that would have kept protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) alive and why he can’t explicitly fill in the rest of that final sentence spoken by his hero.

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I read that you didn’t initially plan to have Gi-hun die in the end. What changed your mind and how different was your original ending?

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. So originally, I thought the person who witnesses the American recruiter woman would be Gi-hun. But as I began writing the story, and as I began to think more and more about, “What do I want to deliver with the ending of this story?” And also, “What should Gi-hun’s journey and what should his destination be?” I was witnessing more and more what was happening around the world and I thought it was more fitting for Gi-hun to send this powerful and impactful message to the world [with his death] and that should be how the story comes to a close.

The world seems to be headed for the worst. It seems to be becoming, in so many different ways, so much worse ahead. I thought, “What kind of sacrifices do we need to make in the current generation for us to be able to leave the future generation with a better world?” So I wanted Gi-hun’s sacrifice to be a symbol of that.

You told me you are not interested in continuing the story in current time, and that if you do a spinoff, you’d go back and explore the time gap between seasons one and two. I’ve seen you mention a Front Man or Recruiter (Gong Yoo played the Korean Recruiter who died in season two) or Captain Park (Oh Dal-su) possible backstory. I’m curious if you’re leaning towards one of those characters more but also, this ending certainly leaves the door open for an American version of Squid Game. Did you intentionally introduce the L.A. recruiter so that the franchise could continue on, even if it’s not you making that show?

I didn’t end it on that note in order to deliberately leave room for further stories to happen. Gi-hun and Front Man, through these characters, the Games in Korea have ended. And because this story started out with me wanting to tackle issues about the limitless competition and the system that’s created in late capitalism, I wanted to leave it on a note highlighting the fact that these systems, even if one comes down, it’s not easy to dismantle the whole system — it will always repeat itself. That’s why I wanted to end it with an American recruiter. And I wrote that scene wanting an impactful ending for the show, not in order to open rooms for anything else.

How did Cate Blanchett’s casting come about, and did you write the cameo with her in mind?

In the beginning, I was tossing around different ideas. I thought, “Should it be a man that we see as the recruiter?” But I thought that, unlike in [the] Korea [version], having a woman who’s a recruiter for the American system would be a nice contrast and also quite a powerful, impactful element. So we were set on having a woman. Then I thought, “Who would be the right fit for that?” It’s a very short scene. There’s only one line, so we needed someone who had that level of presence and charisma to completely dominate the screen in that instant. And that naturally led me to Cate Blanchett. I’ve always been a fan of hers. She’s someone who can instantly grab your attention with a single stare. So that’s how that’s how we set on her.

I’m sure you’ve heard and seen the reports about a possible David Fincher U.S. spinoff of Squid Game. What can you say about that, and either way, are you interested in watching an American Squid Game version?

Honestly, nothing has been said to me officially by Netflix about this. I’ve only read it in articles myself as well. I’ve always been a huge fan of David Fincher’s work — from Seven and I’ve loved his films. So if he were to create an American Squid Game, I think that would be very interesting to watch. I would definitely click on it immediately after it’s released, if it were to happen.

The Front Man has been testing humanity in this series. There was much unsaid when the Front Man saw the new recruiter played by Cate Blanchett. It proved his point that the cycle continues. What do you hope viewers are thinking about after that final scene?

I didn’t have any intentions of wanting to drive all viewers into despair with the ending. (Laughs.) But the premise of the last scene was that the Front Man himself, he had heard of the other international games and recruiters being there, but he didn’t know for sure. And so he was actually also shocked to see for himself that there is this recruiter in America as well, and it was by chance that he saw her. Through the story of Gi-hun and his sacrifice, I wanted to convey the ideas of hope and also of sacrifice, and how we should never let go of it no matter how difficult things get. With the last scene, I also wanted to, however, highlight that the system is so strong and deeply rooted that it’s not something that can be easily dismantled, and therefore it requires all of our continued efforts and strong will.

How long did it take you to come up with the final line that Gi-hun speaks and would you fill it in for us? “Humans are…” What’s the answer?

It’s definitely hard to finish that sentence and define what we are in just a couple of words, right? What us sapiens are. The line of, “We are not horses, we are humans” is what Gi-hun says in season one. So through the following seasons, I wanted to ask, “Then, what are we?” I came to the conclusion that we cannot define what humans are. At one point, we have so much heart and we have so much love for other people and mankind. And then in an instant, we are heartless and extremely selfish.

So I didn’t want to give you my version of how the sentence should end, but rather, I wanted to pose this question and invite all of the audience to think about it together: “What are we?” And from Gi-hun’s perspective, rather than saying what humans are, I believe his actions have shown what he believes. I wanted that scene not to end in a way where I’m saying what humans are, but more about what humans should be.

We have to be willing to let go of some things that we had been clutching in her hands so firmly — growth, competition, greed, all of that. We should be willing to let it go and let go of the grip. I think it’s time for us to really make that decision of sacrifice so that we can leave the future generation with the better world. If we don’t do that, the world is headed for the worst and it will be irrevocable. So I think that by what Gi-hun does, he has shown what humans should be through his actions rather than his words.

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The final season of Squid Game is now streaming on Netflix. Read THR’s take on the finale cameo and how it could set up a spinoff and the first part of our interview with Hwang Dong-hyuk.