AgenciesImage via Epic Games.
Netflix鈥檚 Squid Game Season 3 landed this week, ending the saga of Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), Player 456, who first captured global attention in Season 1. Viewers watched Gi-hun enter the Games to clear debts but saw him become a rebel inside the blood-soaked competition.This time, the final episode sees Gi-hun trapped in a last stand. He faces Myung-gi (Yim Si-wan) and Jun-hee鈥檚 newborn baby, now Player 222. Both men kill the other contestants too soon. The cruel twist? At least one must die each round. Myung-gi鈥檚 desperation ends in a fall off the platform, leaving Gi-hun with a choice 鈥 kill the baby or face the guards鈥 guns.Gi-hun defies the Games鈥 cruelty. He ends his own life instead, shouting he is 鈥渘ot a horse to be bet on but a human with a life.鈥 He spares the child but seals his own fate. Player 456 is gone.The Island burns but the Front Man escapesAs the final round breaks down, Lee Byung-hun鈥檚 Front Man 鈥 In-ho 鈥 blows up the Games鈥 island. Hundreds of bodies remain inside the flaming arena. Yet In-ho takes the baby and the winnings 鈥 45.6 billion won (roughly 拢26 million) 鈥 and disappears before the police arrive.The South Korean arena is finished. But the system that fed it? That flame flickers still.Live EventsJun-ho and No-eul walk away or try toWhile Gi-hun鈥檚 life ends, other faces from the Squid Game Season 2 cast 鈥 Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun) and No-eul (Park Gyu-young) 鈥 wrestle with their own escapes. Jun-ho, brother to the Front Man, reaches the island at the last moment. No-eul, torn by guilt over abandoning her own child in North Korea, helps another father flee and then tries to torch the Games鈥 secrets.In the chaos, the wealthy VIPs leave untouched. No punishment. No change.Six months later: Money moves onHalf a year passes. Jun-ho鈥檚 ally Mr Choi (Jeon Seok-ho) is out of prison. Jun-ho drops his fight. But the Front Man appears again 鈥 and hands him Jun-hee鈥檚 baby and that mountain of won Gi-hun first won. The prize lives on. So does the question: at what cost?Cate Blanchett and 鈥楽quid Game USA鈥橝nd just when the story appears shut 鈥 one silent scene swings the door wide open. In the final minutes, In-ho rides through downtown Los Angeles. He spots a figure in a suit. Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett. She鈥檚 playing Ddakji with a homeless man, echoing Gong Yoo鈥檚 鈥淪alesman鈥 from Squid Game Season 1.Their eyes lock. No words. Just a nod. The Front Man closes the window. The camera fades.Hwang Dong-hyuk, the series creator, told Netflix鈥檚 Tudum: 鈥淲e thought having a woman as a recruiter would be more dramatic and intriguing. And as for why Cate Blanchett, she鈥檚 just the best, with unmatched charisma. Who doesn鈥檛 love her? So we were very happy to have her appear.鈥 He added, 鈥淚f Gong Yoo is the Korean Recruiter, I thought she would be the perfect fit as the American Recruiter, bringing a short but gripping and impactful ending to the story.鈥滾ee Byung-hun confirmed he never met Blanchett on set: 鈥淲e shot our parts separately with just a camera going back and forth.鈥滻s the American Squid Game next?Blanchett鈥檚 cameo fuels old rumours. For years, whispers have said Netflix might back a Squid Game USA. Deadline reported David Fincher might develop it. Dennis Kelly, of Utopia, is linked as writer. Sources suggest 鈥淪quid Game: America鈥 could start production in Los Angeles in December 2025. Netflix? Quiet for now.Hwang Dong-hyuk told Entertainment Weekly: 鈥淚鈥檓 not trying to say that I鈥檓 going to close the door to spinoffs or sequels altogether because they say never say never.鈥漊ntil then, the Squid Game cast stands frozen between an ending and a question mark.For Netflix, Squid Game lives beyond Gi-hun鈥檚 sacrifice. There鈥檚 a mobile game. The reality spin-off Squid Game: The Challenge won a BAFTA. Philadelphia and Dallas will soon house permanent Squid Game venues.So the slap of Ddakji may ring next in American streets. Squid Game Season 1 shocked the world. Seasons 2 and 3 鈥 messy as they were 鈥 kept the fight alive. If there鈥檚 more, it begins with Blanchett鈥檚 nod on that Los Angeles pavement.One last question for fans: ready for the next slap?(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
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(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onSquid Game Season 3NetflixSquid Game finaleFront ManSquid Game USACate Blanchettsquid game(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online….moreless
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