'Squid Game' is over, but there’s a spinoff in the works. Here’s what we know so far

Just when we thought we’d seen the last of the blood-soaked tracksuits and the red-light-green-light nightmares, the final scene of Squid Game opens up a can of worms.

In the action-packed season three finale of Netflix’s global phenomenon, Gi-Hun sacrifices himself to save Jun-hee’s newborn baby, who ultimately becomes the winner of the game. Meanwhile, Front Man’s brother, Jun-ho, finally uncovers the island and alerts the Coast Guard, forcing the Front Man to trigger a self-destruction sequence that obliterates the facility and all its secrets. It was an intense ending to say the least—but was it really the end?

The finale’s final moments hinted otherwise. In the last scene, we see the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) delivering Gi-Hun’s prize money to his daughter in Los Angeles. As he drives away, he spots an alleyway where a recruiter is playing Ddakji with an unsuspecting man, eerily mirroring the beginning of Gi-Hun’s nightmare. The recruiter? None other than Cate Blanchett. The jaw-dropping cameo confirms one thing: the games aren’t confined to Korea anymore.

The show’s creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, told The Hollywood Reporter, “The Front Man himself had heard of the other international games and recruiters being there, but he didn’t know for sure. And so he was also shocked to see for himself that there is this recruiter in America as well, and it was by chance that he saw her.”

Naturally, the cameo has sparked swirling rumours about a potential Squid Game spinoff set in America, possibly with Cate Blanchett returning as the recruiter. However, Hwang clarified to Variety that Blanchett’s cameo wasn’t meant as a direct link to a sequel, “Actually no, not at all. It’s not related to that. All I wanted to have was just an impactful ending, and that’s all that was to it.”

Still, he isn’t completely ruling out future possibilities, telling Entertainment Weekly, “I’m not trying to say that I’m going to close the door to spinoffs or sequels altogether because they say never say never.”

Hwang revealed that he has toyed with the idea of a potential spinoff exploring the three-year gap between seasons one and two, focusing on the lives of recruiters, Captain Park, and the masked men outside the gaming arena during that period. “That is some vague ideation that I have that could possibly be developed in the future,” he shared with Entertainment Weekly.

While an official spinoff or sequel hasn’t been confirmed, the possibility of the Squid Game expanding into a global franchise feels more real than ever. The finale’s American recruiter cameo suggests that even if the games were shut down in Korea, they could have already spread across borders, quietly operating under the noses of authorities worldwide. It’s possible the VIPs, undeterred by the destruction in Korea, have simply moved locations, setting up new arenas in unsuspecting cities.

As Hwang summed it up to The Hollywood Reporter, “Even if one comes down, it’s not easy to dismantle the whole system—it will always repeat itself. That’s why I wanted to end it with an American recruiter.”

Cate Blanchett’s chilling cameo may have been intended as an impactful final note, but it has left viewers questioning what comes next. Whether or not Netflix announces an English-language spinoff, the Squid Game universe feels far from finished.

What will be the rules, and who will be the players in this next round of deadly games? Only time will tell.

All images: Netflix

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