After Squid Game became a sensation on Netflix, an inevitable question became if there would be either an American adaptation or an in-universe spin-off. David Fincher would, then, be a prominent name attached to the project. It was reported back in 2024 that the director was developing an English-language Squid Game series at Netflix. Fincher had previously worked extensively with the streaming company that released his acclaimed series Mindhunter and his films Mank and The Killer.
According to The Playlist, David Fincher’s Squid Game spin-off, which has the working title Heckler, will not be moving forward at Netflix. The Playlist cites a source close to the filmmaker on this new development. Apparently, the project had lost its momentum as Fincher focused on film projects like the upcoming Quentin Tarantino-written sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which is the Brad Pitt vehicle, The Adventures of Cliff Booth.
When Squid Game 2 debuted in 2024, JoBlo.com asked series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk directly about the rumored American spin-off and whether he would be involved, to which he said, “It would be great if each of the other countries could take it up for themselves. I don’t think it will be easy for me to travel to these countries and create their versions of Squid Game. Their local creators would best do the most fitting version of Squid Game for each country. So we would get a different version of Squid Game for each country by its local creators. That’d be great.”
For those who have seen the final episode of Squid Game 3, the closing minutes of the episode find In-ho (Lee Byung-hun) in Los Angeles dropping off a gift for Gi-hun’s daughter. As his driver gets caught in traffic, In-ho sees two people in an alley playing ddakji, the Korean paper-flipping game employed by the Salesman, played by Gong Yoo, in the first two seasons of the series. When this new recruiter turns to face him, we see nothing other than Cate Blanchett in a gray suit. Giving an unspoken but knowing glance to In-ho. The implications of this scene are varied, but the inclusion definitely points to confirmation of the spin-off or, at the very least, teases that the games are part of a global network rather than existing solely in South Korea.