Squid Game Creator Just Debunked the Biggest Season 3 Fan Theory

If you were convinced that Cate Blanchett popping up at the end of Squid Game meant a U.S. spinoff was secretly in the works, go ahead and tap the brakes. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk just shut that chatter down himself, and he did it pretty definitively.

What that finale was actually saying

Hwang says the big U.S. recruiter tag at the end wasn’t a door to another series so much as a thematic mic drop. The idea: even if one branch of this exploitative machine gets chopped, the larger system of cutthroat, late-capitalist competition keeps humming and eventually rebuilds itself. That’s the point of steering the final beat toward America.

"I didn’t end it on that note in order to deliberately leave room for further stories to happen."

He added that the American recruiter was there to land the ending with more force — not to tease a sequel, spinoff, or anything else.

About that Cate Blanchett cameo

Yes, Season 3 ends with Cate Blanchett recruiting players in the U.S., while the Front Man watches from his car. That single scene set off weeks of speculation that Netflix was cooking up an American Squid Game, potentially with David Fincher involved. It looks like a setup. According to Hwang, it isn’t.

Is Netflix actually making a U.S. spinoff?

Short answer: there’s no official project. Hwang told Variety he hasn’t heard anything from Netflix about a David Fincher-led Squid Game of any kind.

"Honestly, I haven’t heard officially from Netflix about David Fincher creating a Squid Game."

He also stressed that the finale doesn’t hint at a spinoff: it was designed to be an impactful ending, period. Adding to the confusion, the Film & Television Industry Alliance website lists something titled 'Squid Game: America' with a note that filming could begin in February 2026 — but again, no announcement from Netflix, and Hwang says he hasn’t been looped in. File that under: interesting, not confirmed.

The alternate ending that almost happened

If the final choice in the Games left you rattled, you weren’t alone. The show caps off with Gi-hun sacrificing himself to save the child. Hwang says that wasn’t always the plan. Early on, when he was mapping out Seasons 2 and 3, he had no intention of killing Gi-hun at all — the protagonist might even have won and gone back to see his daughter. But the more he wrote (and the more the real world intruded), the less that outcome fit the story’s message. He decided Gi-hun’s sacrifice was the more honest ending and the right closure for the character’s journey.

For the record, Hwang also says the baby was never in danger — the child was there as a symbol of the future and the next generation, which is exactly what Gi-hun ultimately chooses to protect.

The series, at a glance

• Season 1: created by Hwang Dong-hyuk; 9 episodes; Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
• Season 2: created by Hwang Dong-hyuk; 7 episodes; Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
• Season 3: created by Hwang Dong-hyuk; 6 episodes; Rotten Tomatoes: 78%

So that’s where things stand: rumors are loud, the ending was deliberate, and Hwang isn’t secretly teeing up a stateside offshoot — at least not based on what he’s being told. Would you watch a U.S. Squid Game if it ever actually happened? For now, the entire series is streaming on Netflix.