As someone who has watched Squid Game through the English dub, I can tell you that it’s not worth it. You’re better off watching this series in Korean and many can attest to that. So you could imagine the horror when it was rumored that the popular K-Drama will receive an American adaptation.
Hollywood Insider Jeff Sneider reported that Netflix has plans to produce an “American take” on Squid Game and plans to get House of Cards executive producer, David Fincher involved. Netflix is already producing a game show version of this K-drama and also confirmed that the show will return for a second season. But to see that a US version of the show is on the table just reeks of Netflix running out of ideas.
People have pointed out that an American version of Squid Game already exists. It’s called “real life,” and it’s happening in our schools and everyday society. Others pointed out that the original version of Squid Game has an English dub. And sure, it’s not great, but it’s still enough for those who want to watch it in English.
People have also suggested that there are shows that already exist that are like Squid Game. Heck, MrBeasts‘ YouTube remake was also called out, stating it’s better to watch that rather than see Netflix produce the same show with an all-American cast. And if that wasn’t enough, people pointed to the absolute flop that was the Death Note Netflix live-action adaptation, which featured an American twist to the popular Japanese anime. The show received a critics score of 36 percent and an audience score of 23 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Squid Game was a massive hit following its debut in 2021. According to The Guardian, the show had over a billion hours viewed during the first 28 days and was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2022 Emmy Awards. Meanwhile, South Korean actor Lee Jung-Jae won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Hwang Dong-hyuk won Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for his work on the episode “Red Light, Green Light.”
At the moment, the US adaptation of Squid Game is still up in the air and it’s uncertain if Fincher will be involved. In addition, Oscar-winner, Leonardo DiCaprio has expressed interest in starring in the show. It would probably be best, however, if Netflix just released its game show version and season two of the series, rather than just milking the concept to death.
