'Squid Game' director reveals original ending of final season before reviving player 222

Hwang Dong Hyuk says the original finale had a hopeful ending, but global issues led him to change it.

Squid Game director Hwang Dong Hyuk recently revealed that the globally streamed Netflix drama originally had a different finale.

In an interview with Joongang Ilbo, he said the first version of the script ended on a more hopeful note, with protagonist Seong Gi Hun meeting Hwang Jun Ho and travelling to the US to see his daughter.

Hwang said he changed course after reflecting on present-day global crises. “I personally started to feel that surviving in this world was becoming increasingly difficult. Inequality is deepening, the threat of war is growing, and yet no one is taking responsibility,” he explained.

The director added that stories of extreme wealth, including Jeff Bezos’s reported $51.7 million wedding, helped solidify his decision to rework the ending.

“I felt that now is the time for older generations to let go a bit of their growth, development, and desires,” Hwang said, noting that this inspired him to include a child in the final storyline to symbolise future generations.

The newly shared version of events has reignited discussion about the show's conclusion and the societal critique embedded within. Hwang’s comments offer deeper insight into the intentions behind the darker direction, even if it diverged from what many expected.