But the financial reality of streaming is relentless. Netflix, facing its first subscriber slowdown in a decade, needed a franchise. Reports emerged in early 2022 of a “creative arm wrestle” between Hwang and the streamer. The result? A reported $100 million deal to produce not only Season 2 but a potential Season 3, coupled with guarantees of creative control.
The production prioritized physical, large-scale sets over CGI to maintain the series' "uncanny valley" aesthetic. Squid Game- Making Season 2
The making of Squid Game Season 2 is a meta-narrative about the entertainment industry itself. A small, arthouse satire of capitalism has become a capitalist juggernaut. Hwang Dong-hyuk, the artist who hated the system, is now the system’s most valuable employee. But the financial reality of streaming is relentless
, the production was a massive undertaking filmed back-to-back with the third and final season. Production Strategy & Development Back-to-Back Filming The result
The production journey for Season 2 was significantly more complex than the first.