Summary
Lee Jung-jae is set to return to portray the main protagonist, Gi-hun, inSquid GameSeason 3. The South Korean actor shares his status with his character, admitting he hasn’t let go of it yet, even if they were done with the production a year ago.
Squid Gameis a hit South Korean survival psychological thriller on Netflix. It centers on Gi-hun, who is financially struggling and buried in debt. He finds himself in a deadly tournament with 455 other players hoping to win the game and take home the cash prize worth 45.6 billion won or approximately $31.42 million. Gi-hun won the game in Season 1 and lost a lot of people along the way. However, he returned to the tournament to save the new batch of players by igniting a rebellion inSquid GameSeason 2. However, he failed and his fate would be sealed in the upcoming season.
Squid Gamecreator Hwang Dong-hyukhas been adamant that Season 3 will wrap up Gi-hun’s story. However, Jung-jae said in a recent interview that he has not moved on from the role yet, even if it’s nearly a year since they wrapped up filming Season 3. The second and third seasons of the show were filmed simultaneously, so they were done with Season 3 production in June 2024. Jung-jae is waiting for the release of the third season and the audience’s reactions before he wants to move on from his role as Gi-hun. “We haven’t released season three yet and we still don’t know how the audiences are going to respond to season three, I haven’t said goodbye to Gi-hun yet although we have wrapped production,” he explained (via Hindustan Times). Apparently, the actor believes that the audience’s reaction to the show is “part of the journey.” So, until then, he would hold on to his character.
Gi-hun’s fate inSquid GameSeason 3remains unclear. However,the trailershows him wearing the finalist suit, suggesting that he makes it to the final round. Also, in another interview, he said thatthe most difficult part to shoot was the “last round"that would be featured in the final season. As to who he will be up against in the deadly battle remains unknown, but fans have been attached to several characters and many are hoping that, unlike Season 1, more will survive this time.
Jung-jae holding on to hisSquid Gamecharacter until the release of Season 3 is understandable. It’s clear that he is very much attached to the role and it’s not surprising because even fans are attached to him and have been rooting for Gi-hun since Season 1. Also, Gi-hun is instrumental in Jung-jae making history at the Emmys. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2022. He was the first Asian actor and the first actor from a non-English language series to receive the accolade. Most importantly, his statement shows that he understands that this is a shared journey between them and the audience. So, even if they had wrapped filmingSquid GameSeason 3 a long time ago, it’s not yet finished until the viewers experience it. Additionally, it shows Jung-jae’s thoughtfulness and humility because he waits for the story to land and resonate with the audience before moving on from it.
