Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has responded to criticism of his show’s finale from basketball player LeBron James. Warning: Squid Game spoilers ahead.
“Have you seen Space Jam 2? LeBron James is cool and can say what he wants. I respect that. I’m very thankful he watched the whole series,” Hwang said in a recent interview with The Guardian (opens in new tab). “But I wouldn’t change my ending. That’s my ending. If he has his own ending that would satisfy him, maybe he could make his own sequel. I’ll check it out and maybe send him a message saying, ‘I liked your whole show, except the ending.'”
“I didn’t like the ending, though,” James said at a press conference (opens in new tab)earlier this month. “I know it’s supposed to start off season two, but get on that fucking flight and see your daughter. What are you doing?”
James is referring to the ending of the series, when Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) decides not to board a flight to visit his daughter in the US – setting up another season where he stays in South Korea to end the games forever.
Season 2 hasn’t been confirmed yet, but Hwang has ideas for where the story would go next. The show is the first Korean drama to reach the top spot on Netflix in the US. Consisting of nine episodes, it follows a group of people with financial struggles who are invited to take part in a mysterious survival competition with a hefty cash prize. They must compete in a series of traditional games, but with deadly twists, risking their lives for ₩45.6 billion (that’s the equivalent of around $38 million).
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