‘Squid Game' Season 3 Trailer: Lee Jung-jae Seeks to Destroy the Competition Once and For All
The highly-anticipated third season of 'Squid Game' has almost commenced — and the competition is more fierce than ever. Lee Jung-jae reprises his lead role for Season 3, which takes place three years after the events of the first 'Squid Game.' Now, Gi-hun (Lee) is determined to destroy the games for good and has spent his prize money only to support his cause.
After Gi-hun convinced his fellow players to overpower the Squid Game guards during the Season 2 finale, Gi-hun is back confronting the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) as Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon) looks for the island.
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'Squid Game' Creator Teases Potential Spinoff: 'I Want to Show What They Did' Between Seasons 1 and 2
'Squid Game 2' premiered in December 2024 and debuted to 68 million views in its first week. Netflix announced at the time that it was a record for the streamer and beat out the previous one set by 'Wednesday' in 2022, which managed only 50.1 million views.
'Squid Game' Season 2 was seven episodes and ended on a cliffhanger. The season also introduced a new characters such as Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul), Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun), Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim), Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri), and the games' guard No-eul (Park Gyu-young).
Hwang Dong-hyuk is the creator and showrunner of 'Squid Game.' IndieWire's review for Season 2 cited how the continuation felt like 'the standard sequel to a Hollywood blockbuster' thanks in part to the 'bigger, bolder style that tends to come with extra resources.' Critic Ben Travers wrote, 'Season 2 is more like half-a-season, complete with a cliffhanger ending. For anyone satisfied with the first competition, the seven new episodes are still likely to provide enough visceral entertainment or vicarious thrills to merit a return trip. Season 2 continues to capitalize on a premise that's instinctively absorbing — who will win and who will lose, who will play with honor and who will debase themselves, who will we identify with and who will we vilify. The slightly trickier questions — the ones that last a little longer than the length of each game — are when and why: When does a character cross a line? Why do they cross it? And can we empathize with their justifications for doing so?'
Season 3 will be the final season for 'Squid Game,' but the franchise could continue with David Fincher being rumored to direct an English-language spinoff for Netflix.
'Squid Game' Season 3 premieres June 27 on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.
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Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Karate Kid: Legends' took me back to the '80s. For the tweens I watched with, the film packed an emotional punch.
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'Wax on, wax off' — those were the last words I heard, courtesy of the guy behind me, as Karate Kid: Legends started and our party of six (three moms, three kids, ages 8-10) settled in to watch. With a 41-year-old franchise — which has spawned six films and the Netflix show Cobra Kai — there's a lot of familiarity with the martial arts franchise from different eras. I remember seeing Karate Kid in the theater during the summer of 1984 — and doing crane kicks on the beach for the rest of my vacation when I wasn't trying to catch flies with chopsticks. When I went home, I cut out photos of Ralph Macchio from Teen Beat and taped them to my bedroom wall. I also vividly remember someone giving me what they claimed was 20-something-year-old Macchio's phone number and calling it — on a corded phone, youngsters — with my friends. I'm pretty sure we hung up on whoever answered. While to this day I could recite most of the film, with all the life lessons Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel-san, you don't have to have seen it or any of the others to enjoy Legends — and my daughter hadn't. Though it makes for a better watch. One mom-daughter pair in our crew saw the original the night before, and the tween yelled 'Johnny!' in delight during the mid-credits scene. My kid had no idea who Johnny (William Zabka) was. (He's come a long way, baby.) This installment of the martial arts franchise, which I enjoyed while sipping a Ruby Red Kicker (a mocktail with ruby red grapefruit, cream of coconut, agave and lime), sees Macchio (Daniel in the first three movies as well as in Cobra Kai) and Jackie Chan (Mr. Han in 2010's The Karate Kid with Jaden Smith) reprising their roles as they come together to help Li Fong (Ben Wang) best his bully rival in the 5 Boroughs Tournament. Li, who is Han's great-nephew, studied kung fu in Beijing before moving to New York City. However, his brother was fatally stabbed during a dispute they had with a kung fu opponent after a tournament. Li is haunted by that — and so is his mother, played by Ming-Na Wen, who doesn't want him to practice kung fu anymore. And what's a Karate Kid movie without a love story? Li meets Mia (Sadie Stanley) — daughter of Joshua Jackson's Victor, a former boxer turned pizza shop owner who owes money to the wrong guys — and their PG relationship sparks trouble with her ex, karate champ Conor (Aramis Knight). Legends takes place three years after Cobra Kai's series finale. It includes nods to its history, starting early on with a throwback scene of Daniel and Mr. Miyagi (the late Pat Morita) from Karate Kid II. It led to the explanation of the deep connection between Miyagi and Han. Han also visits Daniel at Miyagi-Do dojo in California, with the iconic yellow convertible parked outside, to convince him to come to New York to train Li. But there's lots of forward momentum to the story, down to the crane kick being replaced by the acrobatic, spinning dragon kick. While the film may be lagging in box office expectations, the room of moviegoers I was with clapped at the end — and I can't remember the last time that happened. Our young film enthusiasts again liked the funny parts: They laughed as masters Daniel and Han squabbled over which of their martial arts styles was better while training Li. ('What happened to two branches, one tree?' Li asked. 'One branch stronger than the other,' Han replied.) They cracked up when Johnny brainstormed Miyagi-Dough pizza ideas with an exasperated Daniel. ('Olives on, olives off' was the funniest thing to the kids, despite none of them ever even trying one.) They also liked Li's tutor turned friend Alan (Wyatt Oleff) with his comedic relief. 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Rule No. 2: Googling your teen crush's current age as an adult is instant regret.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
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All the drama ahead on the 3rd and final season of 'Squid Game'
Are you ready to get back in the game? The third season of Squid Game is headed to Netflix on June 27 — the final installment of the South Korean television phenomenon. The series, which follows down-on-his-luck Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) as he seeks to win a brutal game with a major monetary prize, is a critique of capitalism and the ever-widening wealth gap — but it's also a thriller with endless jaw-dropping reveals and twists. (Spoilers ahead!) With the last piece of the puzzle soon to be unveiled, here's what you need to know about Squid Game. Netflix is dropping all episodes of Squid Game's third season on June 27 — a very fast turnaround from its last season, which hit the platform on Dec. 26, 2024. Meanwhile, the gap between the first and second season of Squid Game was more than three years, with the first season debuting on Sept. 17, 2021. The show's creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, previously told Entertainment Weekly that Seasons 2 and 3 are actually one continuous story but were split into two seasons because of the number of episodes — which is also why the third season is arriving sooner than expected. The first season of Squid Game saw Gi-hun entering the last-man-standing competition, in which the wealthy watch as poor players battle it out in a variety of deadly challenges for a shot at a life-changing cash prize — 456 billion won, which is around $33 million. Gi-hun wins but is forever changed by the cruelty and violence he experienced. He's hellbent on destroying the game — even if that means returning to the arena. In Season 2, Gi-hun reenters the Squid Game in order to take it down from the inside — which, of course, was always going to be easier said than done. Instead of convincing his fellow participants to walk away from the game, or successfully taking down the game makers with his rebellion, the second season ends with Gi-hun having lost nearly everything. His allies are dead, including his best friend, Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan), who was killed by the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun). According to Netflix, the cast of Squid Game Season 3 includes: Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun/Player 456 Lee Byung-hun as Front Man Wi Ha-jun as Hwang Jun-ho Yim Si-wan as Myung-gi/Player 333 Kang Ha-neul as Dae-ho/Player 388 Park Sung-hoon as Hyun-ju/Player 120 Yang Dong-geun as Yong-sik/Player 007 Kang Ae-sim as Geum-ja/Player 149 Jo Yuri as Jun-hee/Player 222 Lee David as Min-su/Player 125 Roh Jae-won as Nam-gyu/Player 124 Park Gyu-young as No-eul The third season of Squid Game brings us back to the same game played in Season 2 — but despite staging a failed rebellion, Gi-hun is not out of the woods yet. As the teaser shows, Gi-hun is brought back into the game in a coffin and forced to play a series of new childhood games with a violent twist. Those games include a very dangerous round of jump rope and a maze experience that quickly descends into violence. Naturally, the scenes have a disturbing playful aesthetic that hides their true nature. In a letter to fans, Dong-hyuk wrote, 'Seong Gi-hun who vowed revenge at the end of Season 1 returns and joins the game again. Will he succeed in getting his revenge? Front Man doesn't seem to be an easy opponent this time either. The fierce clash between their two worlds will continue into the series finale with Season 3.' The creator isn't totally ruling out more Squid Game. Dong-hyuk told IndieWire earlier this month that he already has a potential plan. "I have an idea," he said. "Our next spin-off will be a story happening between Season 1 and 2. There was like a three-year gap between Season 1 and 2, so I will show what they did for those times." If you're eagerly anticipating more Squid Game, you can check out Netflix's reality show Squid Game: The Challenge, a game show based on the TV series. The show has 456 contestants compete in challenges inspired by the South Korean drama for a cash prize of $4.56 million. (Obviously, no contestants are killed — just kicked off.) And if that's not enough, Netflix also has Squid Game: The Experience, a tourist attraction currently in New York City in which you can compete, too. Unfortunately, there's no cash prize in this one.
Buzz Feed
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Why Ms. Rachel Won't Stay Silent About Gaza
Ms. Rachel — the bubbly, sing-songy children's YouTuber personality who has probably caught the affection of a child you know and love — has made it clear that she won't stop speaking up about the children in Gaza, even if it means risking her career. Known off-screen as Rachel Accurso, Ms. Rachel has built a massive brand with over 15 million YouTube subscribers, a Netflix deal, and a line of merchandise. In a recent interview with NPR, when asked if she's received pushback from financial backers about her outspoken stance, she said, "There has been, but I wouldn't be Ms. Rachel if I didn't deeply care about all kids. And I would risk everything, and I will risk my career over and over to stand up for them. It's all about the kids for me." Ms. Rachel has been speaking out for the kids affected by the tragedy in Gaza since 2024, when she first shared a video fundraising for children in war zones, including those in Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ukraine. Since then, she's only gotten more outspoken, especially in the last month. In May, she shared a series of posts and videos of her meeting Rahaf, a 3-year-old girl who lost both her legs in an airstrike. Rahaf was able to be medically evacuated thanks to the help of the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. "When I saw pictures of Rahaf in Gaza on the hospital floor, I saw the devastating consequences of endless bombing and continuous violations of children's human rights," Ms. Rachel wrote. "Rahaf is now thriving because she has access to medical care, food, water and a safe place to live. It's so clear what we need to give children so they can grow up into healthy, happy adults." Ms. Rachel shared that Rahaf's father and two younger brothers are still in Gaza. Ms. Rachel said Rahaf and her mother, Israa, also a teacher, avoid eating during FaceTime calls with them because the family has so little food. In another post, Ms. Rachel sings and dances with Rahaf in her signature pink T-shirt, blue jean overalls, and ever-cheerful tone. But her caption is somber: "We both love our children with all of our hearts. We want the same thing for them. But my son will have dinner tonight, a story and snuggle with me, school in the morning… and hers won't. If the situation was the other way around, what would I hope Israa would do for me?" This past week, Ms. Rachel addressed world leaders, calling out their silence. "Leaders, be so ashamed of your silence. Be so ashamed that you've seen the same images and videos that we've all seen, but they haven't moved you to do the right thing," she said. "Be so ashamed that you normally speak out for human rights. You normally speak out for children everywhere, but you won't know because they're Palestinian." 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The children—and all Palestinians—deserve better. May more hearts follow your lead ❤️," another wrote in her comments. "Thank you for being so human," someone else wrote on her video dancing with Rahaf. "As a Jew I just want to say thank you. This shows nothing but insane kindness and compassion. Sending so much love," another said. According to U.N. agencies, of the 40,717 Palestinian bodies identified as of January, one-third – 13,319 — were children. An additional 25,000 have been estimated injured, and another 25,000 hospitalized for malnutrition. You can support and donate to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund here.
