Netflix has debuted a previously unreleased clip from the first season of its 2021 surprise mega-hit Squid Game.
The streaming giant released the Squid Game Season 1 deleted scene alongside trailers for Money Heist: Korea and Hellbound Season 2 as part of its Tudum event in Korea. The previously unseen clip was introduced by Squid Game creator, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk. "I'd like to thank all the Netflix fans around the world again for loving Squid Game," Hwang said. "Please look forward to Season 2, which will be filled with all-new stories. But in the meantime, I've prepared a small gift for the fans waiting for Squid Game Season 2." Per Netflix's official video description, the clip itself features the "shocking reveal of Front Man in Season 1."
Squid Game Is a Global Phenomenon
Inspired by Japanese survival manga like Battle Royale and Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji, Squid Game follows the indebted contestants of a twisted competition in which players partake in various children's games. The catch is that losing means death. Meanwhile, the last player standing wins a cash prize of ₩45.6 billion KRW (approximately $32.045 million USD at the time of this writing).
Squid Game premiered its nine-episode first season on Netflix a year ago on Sept. 17, 2021. The Korean drama became a massive overnight success, claiming the title of Netflix's most-watched original series of all time (a record that stands to this day, despite Stranger Things Season 4's best efforts). During an astonishing first four weeks in release, Squid Game amassed over 1.65 billion viewership hours, being watched in over 142 million households worldwide.
This success evidently proved too massive to ignore, as Netflix officially announced a second season of Squid Game this past January. That said, Squid Game Season 2 is not expected to premiere until late 2023 or early 2024. In the meantime, Netflix is working on a reality series titled Squid Game: The Challenge, in which 456 real-life contestants will compete to win a cash prize of $4.56 million USD.
"Squid Game took the world by storm with [director Hwang Dong-hyuk's] captivating story and iconic imagery," said Brandon Riegg, Netflix's VP of unscripted and documentary series. "We're grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment. Fans of the drama series are in for a fascinating and unpredictable journey as our 456 real-world contestants navigate the biggest competition series ever, full of tension and twists, with the biggest-ever cash prize at the end."
Squid Game Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.