‘Squid Game 2' Cast on Connecting With Fans and Relating to Their Characters: ‘Thanos Isn't A Villain, But He Is A Man-Child'
'Squid Game' creator, director and writer Hwang Dong-hyuk joined production designer Chae Kyoung-sun, editor Nam Na-yeong and director of photography Kim Ji-yong and members of the 'Squid Game 2' cast (Lee Jung-jae, Kang Ae-shim, Park Sung-hoon, Lee Byung-hun and Choi Seung-hyun) for a panel and screening on Friday night that was part of Netflix's FYSEE LA series.
When it came to choosing which seemingly-innocent schoolyard games would become death traps in the second installment of his dystopian black comedy, Hwang says he looked for challenges that would force players to vote en masse.
More from Variety
Pablo Larraín to Direct Netflix Domestic Horror Miniseries 'My Sad Dead,' From Fabula and 'The Eternaut's' K&S Films (EXCLUSIVE)
'Lincoln Lawyer' Season 4 Casts Cobie Smulders (EXCLUSIVE)
'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 Sets October Release Date on Netflix
'An important theme I wanted to explore in the second season was the notion of elections,' said Hwang. 'So many free democratic countries around the world are choosing their leaders, and therefore their futures, through the act of casting a vote.'
'Elections exist to provide the right direction for society to head in, but as we all see, it's actually leading people to even further division and hostility – almost the opposite way of what it was originally intended to do. I really wanted to poke at the theme of majority rule in elections within the liberal democratic world, and pose the question: can [democracy] truly bring us down the right path? Is it capable of allowing us to choose the right leaders?'
For Park Sung-hoon, who plays Cho Hyun-ju (a special forces agent ostracized by her peers when she came out as a transgender woman) joining the cast of 'Squid Game 2' allowed him to form a deeper bond with an understanding of the LGBTQ+. community.
'[The fans] have given me so much support and love despite me being a cisgender actor playing a transgender character,' said Sung-hoon. 'I think the world is becoming a better place for the LGBTQ+ community, but prejudices and biases still exist, and Geum-ja is a character who represents that kind of attitude towards the community.'
'But later on in the show, Geum-ja warms up to her, she embraces her as one of her friends and family. I hope the viewers feel the same way about Hyun-ju, warming up to her as family. In season three, we go through a lot together, so we develop an even stronger bond.'
Sung-hoon wasn't the only newcomer impacted by the show's writing – Choi Seung-hyun, (a rapper and former member of the K-pop group BIGBANG) says understanding the psychology of his character Thanos helped him reflect on his own past.
'Thanos and I have some common ground, as a rapper who went out second in a competition show and had drug issues,' Seung-hyun explained. 'While you might think of me as a successful rapper, I also had my failures, so I had to come face-to-face with my past mistakes when I was looking at Thanos. It took a lot of courage for me to take on this role, but Director Hwang put so much trust in me.
'I don't think Thanos is a villain, but he is a man-child,' Seung-hyun continued. 'Playing this character, it was an opportunity for me to self-reflect on my past and think about what I've done wrong. Through 'Squid Game,' and Thanos, I feel like I'm ready to move on to a new chapter of my life. I learned so much from him.'
The day after the FYC event, the 'Squid Game' stars walked the red carpet, where Lee Jung-jae told Variety he still wants to see Leonardo DiCaprio on the show. Watch the video below to hear what he had to say.
Best of Variety
What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Wire
36 minutes ago
- Business Wire
BIS Issues Notice of Intent to Deny Applications for Licenses to
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enterprise Products Partners L.P. ('Enterprise') (NYSE: EPD) today announced that yesterday, June 3, 2025, Enterprise received notice from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security ('BIS') of BIS's intent to deny Emergency Authorization Requests ('EARs') with regard to three proposed cargoes of ethane to China, totaling approximately 2.2 million barrels. Per the Notice, Enterprise has up to twenty days to respond to BIS with any comments or rebuttals with regard to these affected EARs. Unless Enterprise is advised by the 45 th day after the date of the notification, these denials will become final without further notice. As previously disclosed on May 29, 2025 in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Enterprise with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, 2025, BIS notified Enterprise of new licensing requirements for exports of 'ethane and butane, saturated, having a purity of 95 percent or more by volume' to China. This new licensing requirement was effective immediately (the licensing requirement for butane was subsequently withdrawn). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration ('EIA'), total U.S. ethane production in 2024 was approximately 2.8 million barrels per day ('BPD') and total U.S. ethane exports were approximately 492,000 BPD. U.S. ethane exports to China were approximately 227,000 BPD in 2024, representing 8 percent of total U.S. ethane production and 46 percent of total U.S. ethane exports. Enterprise's marine export terminal on the Houston Ship Channel loaded approximately 213,000 BPD of ethane in 2024 of which approximately 40 percent, or 85,000 BPD, were destined to Chinese markets. Ethane exports destined to China from Enterprise's Morgan's Point facility in 2024 represented only 37 percent of total U.S. ethane exports to China for 2024. Currently, Enterprise estimates that total U.S. ethane exports to China has increased to approximately 290,000 BPD in 2025. Company Information and Use of Forward-Looking Statements Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. Services include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage and marine terminals; crude oil gathering, transportation, storage and marine terminals; petrochemical and refined products transportation, storage and marine terminals; and a marine transportation business that operates on key U.S. inland and intracoastal waterway systems. The partnership's assets currently include more than 50,000 miles of pipelines; over 300 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, crude oil, petrochemicals and refined products; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity. This press release includes 'forward-looking statements' as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein that address activities, events, developments or transactions that Enterprise and its general partner expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, including required approvals by regulatory agencies, the possibility that the anticipated benefits from such activities, events, developments or transactions cannot be fully realized, the possibility that costs or difficulties related thereto will be greater than expected, the impact of competition, and other risk factors included in Enterprise's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Except as required by law, Enterprise does not intend to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Forbes
37 minutes ago
- Forbes
Guillermo Del Toro's ‘Frankenstein': What Are Chances Of A Theater Run?
Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac in "Frankenstein." Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is coming to Netflix later this year, but will it also play in theaters? The answer is fairly simple, but it comes with a huge caveat. The Oscar-winning director behind the creature feature The Shape of Water and the stop-motion version of Pinocchio was on hand with Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth at Netflix TUDUM 2025 on Saturday to unveil the first trailer for his adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic monster tale. Jacob Elordi, who is playing Frankenstein's Monster in the film, wasn't present, but was featured in short video prior to del Toro, Isaac and Goth's arrival on stage. While introducing the trailer to fans at the Netflix event, del Toro spoke of how important Frankenstein was to his life and filmmaking career, noting, 'I first read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as a kid and saw Boris Karloff in what became for me a religious state," del Toro said. 'Monsters have become my personal belief system,' the filmmaker added. "There are strands of Frankenstein throughout my films — Cronos, Blade, Hellboy, big time on Pinocchio and a long, long, et cetera." Netflix released the Frankenstein trailer on YouTube immediately after its TUDUM 2025 debut on Saturday and to date the 2-minute, 23-second teaser has amassed more than 5.1 million views as of this publication. Neither del Toro nor the teaser indicated an exact release date for the film. Only one word — 'November' — appears at the end of the trailer. That one word, however, is up for interpretation. Will the film only debut on the streaming service in November or will it have a theatrical run first? Whatever the case may be, there seems to be a fairly common denominator among the 8,200-plus comments that accompany the trailer on YouTube: Fans think the film needs to be shown in theaters. So, the short answer of whether Frankenstein will be shown in theaters is without a doubt, 'Yes,' but that doesn't mean every one of del Toro's fans will get an opportunity to see the film on the big screen. There's a reason Netflix is being cryptic with its release date. As a longtime awards season voter who tracks the races for movie honors annually — I've been a member of the Critics Choice Association's Film Branch since 1999 — there's no doubt in my mind that Netflix is going to assemble a full-fledged awards season run for the film with its November placement. It's even reasonable to think that the streamer is probably already at work on putting together a campaign for the Oscars and other big awards shows and the date it releases the film is a huge part of that strategy. For one, no studio wants to release its film too early, only to be forgotten when another major contender comes along. The next question that needs to be answered is whether Netflix deems the film as 'Oscar worthy.' The trailer alone already seems to make Frankenstein a shoo-in for production design and cinematography Oscar nominations, and that's only based on 2 and half minutes of footage. Once the makeup for Jacob Elordi's Frankenstein's Monster is unveiled, the buzz will likely begin for that category the Oscars, too. Plus, given Guillermo del Toro's Oscars pedigree — he's been nominated for six Academy Awards and won three — Frankenstein will likely be a contender beyond the technical categories. As if The Shape of Water's four Oscar wins — including Best Picture and Best Director for del Toro — isn't enough reason for Netflix to give the celebrated filmmaker awards season support for Frankenstein, then the streamer doesn't have to look back any further than 2022. That's when del Toro and his late co-director Mark Gustafson released their acclaimed stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio on Netflix, which won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MAY 31: (L-R) Oscar Isaac, Guillermo del Toro, and Mia Goth speak onstage ... More NETFLIX TUDUM 2025: THE LIVE EVENT at The Kia Forum on May 31, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo byfor Netflix) Of course, to qualify for the Oscars, Netflix is bound to abide by the rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences if its to have a chance of securing Oscar nominations. The rules state in part that a film must be available 'for paid admission in a commercial motion picture theater in one of the six qualifying U.S. metro areas: Los Angeles County; City of New York [five boroughs]; the Bay Area [counties of San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, San Mateo and Contra Costa]; Chicago [Cook County, Illinois]; Miami [Miami-Dade County, Florida]; and Atlanta [Fulton County, Georgia].' Furthermore, per AMPAS rules, a film must have a 'theatrical qualifying run of at least seven consecutive days in the same commercial motion picture theater, during which period screenings must occur at least three times daily, with at least one screening beginning between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.' So, the good news is, as long as Netflix backs an awards season campaign for Frankenstein, fans in one of the six qualifying cities listed in AMPAS' rules of eligibility will get to see the film in theaters. But where does that leave audiences outside of those markets? Again, using Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio as an indicator, Frankenstein should get some sort of limited release that goes beyond the qualifying theatrical run for the Oscars. After all, at the end of Pinocchio's official trailer in 2022, it reads, 'In Select Theaters November and on Netflix December 9.' As such, it would be a shock for the streamer to not extend the same opportunity for Frankenstein. Keeping its promise, Netflix released Pinocchio in theaters on Nov. 9, 2022, per The Numbers, but since the streamer doesn't report its box office information, the actual number of screens it played on domestically and how much the film grossed in its 'select' run remains a mystery. One other hopeful scenario is that del Toro uses his clout and pushes for a larger theatrical run. It's something director Zack Snyder was able to accomplish before, when, per Variety, Netflix released his zombie epic Army of the Dead in 600 theaters on May 14, 2021. After that, Army of the Dead played for a week in five theater chains, including Cinemark, before it arrived on the streaming platform on May 21. With that undead movie precedent and the broad cultural appeal of Mary Shelley's classic tale. Netflix won't need a mad genius to figure out that Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein needs to be brought to life on the biggest screen possible.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
BIS Issues Notice of Intent to Deny Applications for Licenses to Export Three Ethane Cargoes to China
HOUSTON, June 04, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enterprise Products Partners L.P. ("Enterprise") (NYSE: EPD) today announced that yesterday, June 3, 2025, Enterprise received notice from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") of BIS's intent to deny Emergency Authorization Requests ("EARs") with regard to three proposed cargoes of ethane to China, totaling approximately 2.2 million barrels. Per the Notice, Enterprise has up to twenty days to respond to BIS with any comments or rebuttals with regard to these affected EARs. Unless Enterprise is advised by the 45th day after the date of the notification, these denials will become final without further notice. As previously disclosed on May 29, 2025 in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Enterprise with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, 2025, BIS notified Enterprise of new licensing requirements for exports of "ethane and butane, saturated, having a purity of 95 percent or more by volume" to China. This new licensing requirement was effective immediately (the licensing requirement for butane was subsequently withdrawn). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration ("EIA"), total U.S. ethane production in 2024 was approximately 2.8 million barrels per day ("BPD") and total U.S. ethane exports were approximately 492,000 BPD. U.S. ethane exports to China were approximately 227,000 BPD in 2024, representing 8 percent of total U.S. ethane production and 46 percent of total U.S. ethane exports. Enterprise's marine export terminal on the Houston Ship Channel loaded approximately 213,000 BPD of ethane in 2024 of which approximately 40 percent, or 85,000 BPD, were destined to Chinese markets. Ethane exports destined to China from Enterprise's Morgan's Point facility in 2024 represented only 37 percent of total U.S. ethane exports to China for 2024. Currently, Enterprise estimates that total U.S. ethane exports to China has increased to approximately 290,000 BPD in 2025. Company Information and Use of Forward-Looking Statements Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. Services include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage and marine terminals; crude oil gathering, transportation, storage and marine terminals; petrochemical and refined products transportation, storage and marine terminals; and a marine transportation business that operates on key U.S. inland and intracoastal waterway systems. The partnership's assets currently include more than 50,000 miles of pipelines; over 300 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, crude oil, petrochemicals and refined products; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity. This press release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein that address activities, events, developments or transactions that Enterprise and its general partner expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, including required approvals by regulatory agencies, the possibility that the anticipated benefits from such activities, events, developments or transactions cannot be fully realized, the possibility that costs or difficulties related thereto will be greater than expected, the impact of competition, and other risk factors included in Enterprise's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Except as required by law, Enterprise does not intend to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on Contacts Libby Strait, Vice President, Investor Relations, (713) 381-4754Rick Rainey, Vice President, Media Relations, (713) 381-3635 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
