It may be the end of Squid Game when the final chapter of the global phenomenon premieres on June 27 on Netflix.

However, creator-director Hwang Dong-hyuk is not closing the doors to the Squid Game universe that he introduced in 2021.

While he confirmed that there would not be a Season 4, he suggested there was room to explore the backstories and lives of the characters he created.

“I get curious myself when I write the story. What are the characters up to during the years between the seasons?” said the film-maker, 54, at a press conference held in Seoul on June 9.

He added: “I could do Squid Game spin-offs or a prequel if the opportunity allows.”

Since its debut on Netflix on Sept 17, 2021, the fictional South Korean survival series – where contestants battle one another in gruesome games to be the last man standing to win 45.6 billion won (S$43 million) – remains the streamer’s most popular show to date.

When Season 2 started its run in December 2024, it broke the record for most views of a show in its premiere week and made it to Netflix’s global Most Popular Non-English TV list in just three days.

Season 2 ranks second on the list with 193 million views, second only to Season 1’s 265 million views.

Fronted by actors Lee Jung-jae and Lee Byung-hun, Squid Game also won several Hollywood accolades in 2021 and 2022, including six Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. 

Picking up from Season 2’s cliffhanger, Season 3 thrusts Gi-hun aka Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae) back into the brutal heart of the game after a failed rebellion against it. Having witnessed the death of his best friend at the hands of the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), the game mastermind, Gi-hun is even more determined to take down the Front Man once and for all.

Season 3 also stars Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon, Yim Si-wan and Lee Jin-uk as some of the surviving contestants, while Wi Ha-jun and Park Gyu-young reprise their police and game guard characters respectively.

Calling his Squid Game journey a “miracle”, Hwang admits he never expected the series would receive such a reception.

“Everyone wants to have a successful career and a project, but nobody would have expected this much success from one project,” says Hwang, adding he particularly treasured the time spent on set with the actors and the interactions with international fans.

Lee Jung-jae, 52, says the series&r...