Squid Game: Netflix’s hit series almost emerged as a movie

SQUID GAME

October 26, 2021 at 2:06 pm

“Squid Game” is a huge hit on Netflix. However, the creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, originally planned the series as a film. Why were his plans thwarted?

• Hwang Dong-hyuk, creator of the series, has been writing the screenplay for the film “Squid Game” since 2009.
• However, the project did not find any buyers and was on hold for almost a decade.
• Netflix called for a series instead of a movie, and Dong-hyuk insisted on the original title in return.

The Korean series “Squid Game” advanced on Netflix to an immense success. The critical of capitalism series shows in a dark manner the abysses of the unequal South Korean society. Recruited participants who seem to have nothing more to lose take part in the “Squid Game” with the prospect of winning millions. If you lose one of the games, you will be killed.

“Squid Game” was released as a nine-part series on Netflix. When the series creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, started writing the screenplay in 2009, he had a self-contained film in mind. However, potential investors were bothered by the dark and extremely brutal plot of the film, so Dong-hyuk had to put the project on hold for some time.

“Squid Game” should be called “Round Six”

Eventually the idea was picked up by Netflix, who in turn wanted to produce the script as part of a series instead of a film. This decision was due to the fact that “Squid Game” should be based on a more detailed examination of the characters. Also, the pace of the script would be better suited for a series than a movie.

Certainly also plays the fact that a series because of its many episodes more viewers booked as a film, into the decision. Dong-hyuk extended the script to the format of a series.

In return, he did not want to adopt the title change proposed by Netflix for “Round Six”, which Netflix accepted. So the persistence of the Creator paid off and the unwilling investors of yore are annoyed at the missed opportunity.