South Korean actors Lee Jung-jae (R) and Lee Byung-hun (L) pose with director Hwang Dong-hyuk (C) as they attend Netflix's "Squid Game" Season 3 premiere at The Plaza Hotel in New York on June 18, 2025. - AFP
SEOUL: Netflix’s global hit "Squid Game” returns for its highly anticipated third and final season on Friday (June 27), bringing the gripping South Korean saga that began in 2021 to a dramatic close.
The final instalment will feature six episodes - a shorter run compared to Season 1’s nine and Season 2’s seven episodes - Yonhap news agency reported.
Picking up from the previous season’s cliffhanger, the third season is expected to answer lingering questions surrounding the contestants and the mysterious organisers behind the deadly survival games.
Series creator, writer and executive producer Hwang Dong Hyuk said the final chapter aims to explore fundamental questions about humanity’s ability to create a better world under the weight of a capitalist system.
These clashing ideologies are reflected in the show’s central characters: protagonist Gi Hun (played by Lee Jung Jae) and the Front Man (Lee Byung Hun).
The new season will see Gi Hun face more deadly challenges, confront personal loss and move towards an ultimate confrontation with the Front Man.
The story will also delve into the backgrounds of other significant characters, including a mother-son pair, a pregnant young woman and her estranged ex-partner and a rebellious North Korean guard.
Although it remains unclear whether every mystery surrounding the games and their secretive creators will be resolved, Hwang said the season is designed to take viewers "to the very end of despair, where the faintest glimmers of hope are shattered."
He added that a central question of the story is, "When all hope is extinguished and only despair remains, what lies beyond that?"
"Squid Game” Season 3 will premiere at 4 pm local time on Netflix. - Bernama/Yonhap
