Huge budget and tough filming: The behind the scenes details of how Squid Game 2 was made

Squid Game 2 has quickly become one of the biggest shows Netflix has ever made, and behind the scenes it was a huge production, too. It took years for season two to come out after season one, and that was widely down to huge sets and productions to create the shocking show. It’s not easy!

But, the show’s creator isn’t one to gate keep. Across various reports he’s shared all about what making Squid Game 2 was really like, and the tough reality of creating the show we all love. Nothing but respect to the grind.

Here are all the best behind the scenes details of how Squid Game 2 was made.

via Netflix

Squid Game was meant to have a completely different name

The name of Squid Game was nearly something totally different. The original title was so boring, I’m glad the creator came to his senses. Originally it was called Round Six, because the writer worried people wouldn’t understand the cultural reference of Squid Game.

The name was even used in the original press release info by Netflix. “Award-winning director Hwang Dong-hyuk will produce a new Korean original series, Round Six,” it said in 2019.

Squid Game wasn’t meant to last three seasons

We were all glad to find out after season two that season three would be coming so soon. But this very much wasn’t the original plan. “I originally envisioned it as a single series, so both seasons two and three as a single series when I was writing it,” creator  Hwang Dong-hyuk said.

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“But then, as I wrote the story along, it became to be too many episodes and too long of a story because you see Gi-hun’s journey where he returns to the game, but also he goes through a revolt, and that is actually the climax of that storyline, where he tries to create an uprising, but then that all goes to failure.

“And I also saw that aspect of it as yet another game as well, and so I thought that we would divide it into two seasons to have that – Gi-hun’s revolt going into a failure, him ending up losing his best friend, that itself being yet another important climatic event in the first half of the season, so into season two.”

via Netflix

It took three years to make Squid Game 2

We’ve been waiting for years for Squid Game 2 following the first season of the show. And during all three of these years, the new episodes were being written and created.

There were over 500 cast and crew members

There are obviously a lot of players in the Squid Game 2 cast, and the number of behind the scenes crew members matched this. It’s officially one of Netflix’s biggest productions in history.

In an interview, the show creator said the makeup team used “every type of blood available,” from fake blood that could flow with sweat, to edible blood. “Without working in perfect sync, it would have been impossible to keep track of the situations involving over 400 people, which made us worry about whether we could finish successfully,” he said.

via Netflix

There’s a reason lots of the Squid Game 2 cast members are much younger

You might have noticed that the crop of players for Squid Game 2 seem a lot younger than those in season one. We have a lot of 20-somethings battling for their lives. This is no coincidence. The creator of the show wanted the younger age of the contestants to reflect current trends in society and the desperation the younger generation feels.

In an interview with The Wrap, Hwang Dong-hyuk explained: “There are a lot of younger generations who are already neck deep in debt. Because [this season’s players] are younger, it led to the increase of diversity within the games and also a sense of wildness. They have a lot of adrenaline and energy. This took the craziness of the games to another level.”

Thanos is a real life rapper!

Thanos, played by #ChoiSeungHyun, was an absolute scene-stealer! His character may not have been the nicest, but he brought a certain type of manic energy to every moment he was in. #SquidGame #SquidGameSeason2 pic.twitter.com/dt0dAa9OUJ

— KDrama Enthusiast (@kenthusiastic10) December 26, 2024

The actor who plays Thanos is just like his character in real life, he’s a rapper! Thanos (Player 230) actor Choi Seung-hyun is a Korean K-pop star and rapper. He began his music career as an underground rapper. The, he joined huge Korean label YG Entertainment (the same one as BLACKPINK), and group BIGBANG in 2006. Here, he began using the stage name T.O.P.

In 2016, BIGBANG were the first South Korean band to be included in Forbes’ top 100 richest celebrities list, after earning $44million that year.

The six-legged race was the hardest to create and made cast members sick

The Squid Game 2 creator has said the six-legged game was the hardest to create, as it saw players compete with their ankles tied. According to The Wrap, about 360 players and 150 crew members created the scenes, in an indoor set.

The gravel used for the set also made things complicated. It may have helped create the look of a childhood playground, but it also resulted in a huge group of people kicking up dust in the middle of flu season.

“Every time one group did a run around, [the set] was completely filled with dust, and it was hard to breathe,” he said. “Everyone got really sick. As soon as I said ‘cut’ everyone started coughing, including me. It took more than two weeks to shoot the scene.”

Creating the final scenes took over six months

via Netflix

If you’re wondering why the show took so long to create, building the final revolt scenes took over six months. Building the various bright staircases for the battle took roughly six months. Then, the scene also required seven days of training from a stunt coordination team. Filming took between seven and 10 days.

The budget is believed to have been around $17.5million

The budget for season one of Squid Game was huge. It’s been estimated at around $21.4million, or about $2.4million per episode. If season two followed this same pattern, it would have cost around $17.5million to make.

Squid Game 2 is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.