This acclaimed filmmaker’s involvement has us thinking that maybe an English-language ‘Squid Game’ spin-off on Netflix isn’t the worst idea in the world

Cynicism, recalcitrance, senseless violence — Squid Game has it all.

Things are about to get even better for fans of the show: celebrated Oscar-nominated director David Fincher, known for exploring all of the aforementioned themes, is reportedly interested in making an English-language spin-off of the series. Ever since Squid Game took the world by storm in 2021, it has spawned a Netflix reality series, and a Mr. Beast YouTube experiment. But what fans seem to be actually waiting for is the long-gestating Season 2.

These reality TV renditions seem to miss a fundamental point of what made the show so resonant with the times. The reality shows operate under the false assumption that when fans were watching Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) play a series of life-threatening games, they were doing so with glee, rather than being utterly horrified. That’s why the reality show Netflix produced to capitalize on the hit TV series only attracted critical panning and lawsuits from contestants.

Squid Game: The Challenge understandably left a bad taste in some fans’ mouths, and they’re not looking forward to any remakes or spin-offs from anyone else, even David Fincher. But let’s actually make a case for why a Fincher spin-off could be a good thing. Fincher has already shown his capabilities in adapting foreign texts with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and he’s never misread the source material in his career. If Fincher follows through with a spin-off, it’s almost guaranteed to be faithful to creator Hwang Dong-hyuk’s original vision.

Furthermore, Fincher is one of today’s most consistent filmmakers, with arguably no truly bad projects in the 21st century, with films like The Social Network, Love, Death & Robots, and Gone Girl. And finally, the key detail is that this version will be a spin-off, not a remake. It’s hard to argue that Squid Game isn’t ripe for an expansion of its universe. The vague villains with seemingly bottomless pockets could be from anywhere in the world. Besides, Fincher would likely adjust the visual language of his version to suit his style, and that alone might be worth the price of admission.

It’s also worth mentioning that Hwang has said he’s only ever been able to finish two TV shows all the way through in his life: the first one being Breaking Bad, and the other being David Fincher’s Mindhunter. There’s a mutual respect between the two, and it would be great to see how they could feed off each other’s ideas. In the meantime, Fincher is holding his cards characteristically close to his chest, and according to Deadline, he’s working on another untitled movie before he can finally commit to the Squid Game spin-off in 2025.

Both Netflix and David Fincher’s representatives have not yet commented on this developing story at this point in time.

But fans of the original show don’t have to wait that long; Squid Game will release Season 2 of the Emmy-winning series on Dec. 26, 2024. Hopefully, this time we’ll get an ending that finally pleases LeBron James.