The Squid Game Spin-Off That The Show's Creator Has Been Joking About

This article contains spoilers for "Squid Game" season 3.

For better or worse, "Squid Game" season 3 left a lot of viewers wanting more. What's going to happen with Detective Hwang Jun-ho? What's next for the surviving Player 222? Perhaps most frustrating for many viewers was that In-ho, the Front Man for the games, never received any sort of comeuppance for his many human rights violations throughout the show. His brother Jun-ho yells at him for a few seconds, and In-ho does a kind deed for Gi-hun's daughter, but it all seems undercooked. Fans wanted more drama from In-ho than what season 3 gave them. 

That's why it's so intriguing to hear that showrunner/creator Hwang Dong-hyuk talk about a potential spinoff for the Front Man, even if it seems like he's not that serious about the idea. In a recent interview, In-ho's actor Lee Byung-hun explained, "Director Hwang and I have been joking about a Front Man spin-off since the beginning. We both thought that the Front Man or the recruiter could be interesting for more story, because we haven't really explored these characters in their entirety yet. Their backstory is still vague, and their character is still a little murky."

While season 3 revealed a little bit about In-ho's past — mainly, we learned that he was a former contestant in the games who won by selling his soul — but so much of the rest of his life is a mystery. We know he used to be warmer and more optimistic than he currently is, to the point where his brother Jun-ho is shocked to see what he's become today. How exactly did this moral downfall transpire? We've got the gist already, but a show fully delving into the question could be fascinating. 

"To look at the Front Man with a full character study would be a very fun thing to do," Byung-hun said. "Of course, I'd be willing to star in it. The character has already been built and designed, and I'm very compelled by him. Just as the fans are curious to know more about him, I am too. That's a story I'd be very willing to tell."

Admittedly, there are some obstacles to pulling off such a show. The first problem would be how the games In-ho played in, presumably the period of his life fans would be most interested in seeing, has already been spoiled by the original series. We know In-ho will murder the other contestants unceremoniously in their sleep, which is a fairly anti-climactic, noncinematic way for the games to end. The show would have to drastically switch up the format of a standard "Squid Game" story to make this work, which is definitely a major creative risk. 

The bigger issue is simply that creator Hwang Dong-hyuk seems a little exhausted by his work on the "Squid Game" franchise. "It wore me down physically. Every moment toward the end was exhausting," he said in a recent interview. Combine this with his 2021 confession that the production of season 1 was so stressful that his teeth started falling out, and we'd certainly understand if he wants to leave the "Squid Game" franchise altogether. For now, at least, it seems "Squid Game" fans will have to settle for the American-based, David Fincher-directed spinoff currently in the works. It's always possible that In-ho could show up there, too.