For a show that became a defining fixture of the 2020s seemingly overnight, Squid Game’s impact waned pretty quickly. Its perfect first season benefited all the more from its serendipitous release date: With the entire world stuck at home and desperate for something new to occupy their time, Squid Game became the water-cooler event of the modern era. It made a lot of sense when Netflix renewed the show for more seasons, even spinning a reality show out of its battle royale premise. Last year, Squid Game’s final season ended with a tease for yet another spinoff: a sequel series, directed by David Fincher, that would have brought this bloody game stateside.
Most saw through Netflix’s intentions the minute the streamer announced plans for “Squid Game, but in America.” The original show’s final two seasons failed to fully capture the world in the same grip that Season 1 did; an American spinoff just felt like another desperate play to make a franchise out of something that should have stood alone. The first tease we got for this project, which came at the end of Season 3, seemed to sink Squid Game’s stock further. Still, there was some hope — if anyone could pull off something so unnecessary, Fincher might have been the guy to do it. Unfortunately, his latest series might have just been wiped off the board.
Squid Game’s U.S.-based sequel is on indefinite hold, but it might not be the end for the franchise.
According to The Playlist, Netflix’s U.S.-based Squid Game sequel has received the red light. The project, codenamed “Heckler,” is no longer moving forward. The streamer is reportedly still keen to build the Squid Game universe out, but its priorities have “shifted.” Rather than throwing its weight behind just “one English-language American offshoot,” Netflix “now appears more interested in exploring versions tailored to individual international markets.”
That sounds a bit like what Prime Video is doing with its Citadel saga. The franchise began with its eponymous series — produced by Anthony and Joe Russo with Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the lead roles — and established a hidden spy network with outposts all over the world. The OG Citadel didn’t draw the biggest crowd, but its so-so reception hasn’t stopped Prime from spearheading spinoffs based in Italy and India, respectively, or from planning more shows that will serve as prequels and sequels to the mainline show.
Fincher’s busy schedule might have something to do with Netflix’s pivot, too: the director is hard at work helming a sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood, another project for Netflix, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for TV. For now, it’s safe to assume that the Squid Game universe is stuck in limbo — but if Netflix ever figures out what to do with the franchise, it might be able to answer for its baffling cliffhanger with a better story. (Blanchett, at least, is keen to return to the franchise no matter what.)
