Latest news with #FrontMan
Forbes
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Squid Game' Over As Media Tires Of Survival Series
Netflix survival thriller series Squid Game has ended its run with a season which got less than half the media coverage it had during the month following its debut four years ago. The Korean streaming show became an almost-overnight success when it was released in September 2021 thanks to its timely viral premise. Its name refers to a deadly series of secret games which cash-strapped players compete in for the chance to win $30 million. The games are overseen by the Front Man, a mysterious character who is clad in black and protected by an army of masked guards in pink jumpsuits. The story is told from the perspective of Seong Gi-hun, a divorced father and indebted gambling addict who lives with his elderly mother. He soon finds that if a player loses a game it results in their death which increases the prize pool. It makes for tense storytelling as Gi-hun triumphs and sets out for revenge against the Front Man only to be told that he can't stop the games because human nature perpetuates them. Squid Game's debut season still stands as Netflix's most-watched show with 265.2 million views in its first 91 days of streaming. Its success was all the more surprising given that the show is in Korean so English viewers have to watch it dubbed or with subtitles. As a result, the show launched with little fanfare and caught the media completely off guard. This is reflected in data from Factiva, a search engine owned by Dow Jones which includes content from 33,000 news, data and information sources in 32 languages. It shows that Squid Game wasn't mentioned in the media at all in June and July 2021, just a matter of months before its debut. It attracted 1,524 articles when it launched in September 2021 and rose almost eight-fold to 11,943 the following month as word spread. Despite its dystopian and far-fetched premise, many viewers remarked on how relatable the show is and there is good reason for this. Squid Game was created, written and directed by South Korean filmmaker Hwang Dong-hyuk who based it on his own economic struggles as well as the class disparity in his home country. This authenticity paid off as the show earned a flurry of awards including six Primetime Emmys and one Golden Globe. As the hype continued to build, it set the scene for season two to get even more media coverage than its predecessor but it was not to be. The second season launched on Boxing Day last year and became Netflix's biggest television debut ever with a total of 126.2 million views across 11 days. However, by then saturation had begun to set in as Squid Game hadn't just taken Netflix by storm, it had also partnered with everything from Domino's pizza to the Duolingo online language learning program in an attempt to drive even more exposure. This appears to have had the opposite effect as the number of times Squid Game was mentioned in the media fell to 7,890 in December last year which presumably would not have happened if the public had still been lapping it up as much as when it debuted. No doubt this wasn't helped by the fact that the show's novelty had worn off and, to his credit, Dong-hyuk could see the writing on the wall. In stark contrast to filmmakers for studios such as Disney, Dong-hyuk said that the third season of Squid Game would be the "finale" and it was filmed back-to-back with the second one. Season three was released in June this year and was yet another knockout for Netflix as it became the first show in the streamer's history to debut at number one in all 93 countries where its users are based. What's more, the 60.1 million views that season three attracted in its first three days were more than any other show has attained in the same period. However, it failed to reach the heady heights of its predecessors and currently stands in third place on the list of the ten most popular non-English Netflix shows of all time as shown in the table below. Tellingly, both the number of views and the number of hours viewed have fallen sharply with the release of each season since the first debuted in 2021. Similarly, Google records show that the peak number of times 'Squid Game' was searched during June this year was around a third lower than in October 2021 following the release of the first season. Likewise, the 5,343 media mentions of the show in June were less than half the total from October four years ago. Both season one and three launched towards the end of the month and the bulk of the media coverage would usually be expected in advance to promote them. A different picture emerges when comparing the coverage during the week of release as the third season leads the way with 2,742 mentions in the media followed by 2,047 for season two and just 227 for the inaugural instalment. This suggests that the core fanbase of Squid Game fans became increasingly interested with every season whilst the wider appeal waned which is why the coverage of the show didn't increase as time went by. It highlights the need for Netflix to continue commissioning new content as even shows which once seemed to be bulletproof can eventually fall in popularity. Squid Game isn't the streamer's only show which is ending in 2025. Hit retro-style supernatural drama Stranger Things will also come to a close with the debut of its fifth season at the end of the year. However, unlike Squid Game, it is finishing on a high as its fourth season became Netflix's most-watched English language series when it debuted in 2022. Squid Game does however still have some fight left in it as an English-language version directed by David Fincher is under development. It is rumoured that it will star Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, who made a cameo in Season 3 of the Korean version. Time will tell whether it can get back to its winning ways in the media.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Did you know Lee Byung-Hun's ‘Front Man' avoided his trend of dying in the shows for THIS reason?
Surprisingly, Squid Game season three appears to finally break the melancholy tendency that has characterized many of Lee Byung-hun's noteworthy appearances in television and film. One of the main villains, Lee Byung-hun, was first presented in Squid Game season 1. The opening season of the Netflix Korean show barely revealed anything about his history but hinted at how he ended up becoming the Front Man. Season 2 of Squid Game progressively untangled the web of his mysterious past to reveal that he was also a player in the main games at one point. He ended up losing faith in humanity as a result of the games' events, which led him to play a crucial role in enabling a system that had previously taken advantage of him. Owing to the developments in the Front Man's story in Squid Game's seasons 1 and 2, it was hard not to believe that he would meet the same fate as many of Lee Byung-hun's other characters. However, surprisingly, Squid Gameseason 3 broke one major trend in the actor's career by ending the Front Man's story in an unpredictable way. Lee Byung-hun has portrayed a wide range of characters in television series and films. Surprisingly, despite the fact that most of the characters he plays are very distinct from one another, they all end up dying. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Đây có thể là thời điểm tốt nhất để giao dịch vàng trong 5 năm qua IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo The actor's characters have died in the most bizarre and frequently terrible ways in nearly ten films. Even when the actor appeared in Hollywood movies, like The Magnificent Seven, Terminator Genesis, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, his characters still often met with grim or sacrificial ends. On television, Lee Byung-hun's Hyun-Jun Kim died in IRIS after being shot in the head. Similarly, his character, Eugene Choi, met with a similar fate in Mr. Sunshine. Based on this death trend alone, the viewers, who are familiar with his extensive line of work, could not help but expect that he would die in Squid Games 3 as well. The show, however, astonished many by not only keeping him alive but also giving him a semblance of redemption near the conclusion. Many viewers could not help but theorize that the Front Man would eventually die in Squid Game. It was believed that either Gi-hun or Jun-ho would kill him to ensure the games ended for good. The Front Man brutally murdered Gi-hun's friend, Jung-bae, in Squid Game season 2's ending moments. This led many viewers to believe that Gi-hun would be out for blood in season 3 and would take revenge because the front man deceived him in season 2. The Front Man spared his brother, Jun-ho, in season 1 by making sure he received medical care after shooting him, even though he had little humanity left in him. There was a lot of speculation that Jun-ho wouldn't be as forgiving to his brother. As a police officer, his great sense of justice would drive him to kill rather than spare his brother. Unexpectedly, despite having the chance, Jun-ho also chooses not to murder In-ho, ending Lee Byung-hun's fatality streak. The Front Man watches Gi-hun die from a distance in Squid Game season 3's ending. After watching Gi-hun sacrifice his life for the baby, the Front Man seemingly finds some of his lost humanity. Owing to this, he sends Jun-hee's baby to his brother, believing that he would do a better job at raising the child. He also heads to the United States and gives Gi-hun's daughter access to his winning prize from the games. Although the conclusion of the Front Man's story in Squid Game season 3 is a little unclear, it confirms his survival and suggests that he might choose to pursue redemption rather than play the games again. The Front Man receives a bittersweet ending, much like the majority of Lee Byung-hun's characters who pass away around the end of their stories. However, because he at least survives and regains some of his lost morals, his ending arc seems more sweet than bitter.
Daily Mirror
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Squid Game star drops huge hint show will return but not in the way fans expect
Squid Games star Lee Byung-hun has shared his thoughts on a plotline that could be explored as part of a spin-off show after the final season's dramatic end Although Squid Game has officially wrapped after its third and final season, one of the show's major stars is fuelling new speculation that the story might not be over quite yet. Lee Byung-hun, who plays the mysterious Front Man, recently shared his thoughts about his character's evolution and the possibility of revisiting the hit franchise in a different form. At the end of Squid Game's explosive finale, viewers watched as In-ho, also known as the Front Man, left the island with Player 222 and travelled to Los Angeles to bring Gi-hun's possessions to his daughter. According to Lee, this moment was significant because it showed a shift within his character. "Frontman may seem like the embodiment of absolute evil in the story, having lost all hope in humanity and the world, but after going through all those ups and downs with Gi-hun, maybe he did have a change of heart, that there perhaps may be some hope left after all," he explained. "That's how I interpreted the character and portrayed him. "In the very final part of the series, Frontman goes to find Gi-hun's daughter to leave her with Gi-hun's tracksuit as a keepsake along with his prize money. He also chooses his brother Jun-ho – the only family he deeply trusts – to take care of Jun-hee's baby. "His decisions, I believe, showcase that while he tries to maintain his cold, he definitely has experienced some change of heart." Although Netflix and series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk have both confirmed that Squid Game will not return for a fourth season, there is still the possibility that a spin-off could be made. Hwang previously shared that he has been toying with exploring untold stories from the Squid Game universe, such as what various masked staff or recruiters were up to during the three-year gap between seasons one and two. Lee himself sounds eager to revisit his role if the opportunity comes up. He suggested one plotline that could still be explored in TV form, saying: "If there is a Front Man spin-off, how can I say no to it? It's a no-brainer. "The story of the spin-off would be key, though. It should be even more compelling than that of Squid Game. And I hope it deals with the backstory of In-ho, as fans are still thirsty for more." The finale also surprised fans with a star-studded cameo. In one scene set in Los Angeles, In-ho witnesses two people engaging in a game of ddakji. One of the players is a recruiter, who is played by Cate Blanchett. The brief moment sparked theories that Front Man might be involved in running deadly games internationally, and perhaps even connected to Blanchett's character. However, Lee cleared up some of those rumours. He revealed: "When I asked director Hwang before filming that scene to double check, he did confirm that In-ho was also unaware that the game was being placed elsewhere. So if you look closely enough, In-ho seems both surprised and bitter."
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Lee Byung Hun breaks silence on the 'Front Man' spin-off rumors amid Squid Game 3 buzz
Would Lee Byung Hun play the lead in a follow-up Squid Game as the series comes to a close? Since an American adaptation directed by David Fincher appears to be planning to be filmed for the fall of this year, the question has been on numerous minds. Hwang Dong Hyuk , the director, has so far denied any involvement in the project. The actor who plays Hwang In Ho himself has confirmed that he is willing to appear in the show and appears to be very interested in the potential next plot. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter , Lee Byung Hun discussed plans with the show's writer for a potential spin-off of The Front Man. 'Director Hwang and I have been joking about a Front Man spin-off since the beginning. We both thought that the Front Man or the recruiter could be interesting for more story, because we haven't really explored these characters in their entirety yet. Their backstory is still vague, and their character is still a little murky,' he stated. Although the specifics are still being worked out, they appear willing to explore their options. Regarding whether the actor would play the role himself, he expressed a positive preference, saying, 'To look at the Front Man with a full character study would be a very fun thing to do. So, as for your question—of course I'd be willing to star in it. The character has already been built and designed, and I'm very compelled by him. Just as the fans are curious to know more about him, I am too. That's a story I'd be very willing to tell.' What was the outcome of Squid Game 3? At the conclusion of Squid Game, Lee Byung Hun, who portrayed the Front Man in all three seasons, was still alive. After winning the game, Player 222 's baby receives all of the money, and he can be seen tying up loose ends by giving his family the money that belonged to Lee Jung Jae's Seong Gi Hun. Hwang Jun Ho, played by Wi Ha Joon, became the child's guardian. A The Front Man spin-off seems very likely given his encounter with Cate Blanchett , who seems to have assumed The Salesman's role following Gong Yoo's departure. Before, Hwang Dong Hyuk seemed interested in examining a plot between seasons 1 and 2 to discuss what occurs with Seong Gi Hun as he explores the origins of Squid Game and wins 4.56 billion KRW.
Pink Villa
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Squid Game 3 star Lee Byung Hun reacts to The Front Man spin-off rumors: ‘I'm very compelled…'
Would Lee Byung Hun star in another Squid Game version as the series closes off with a finale? The question has been on the minds of many, as an American version by David Fincher is seemingly planning its production in the fall of this year. However, director Hwang Dong Hyuk has denied his involvement in the project as of now. The actor behind Hwang In Ho himself seems very interested in the possible next story and affirmed his willingness to appear in the show. Lee Byung Hun spoke about a possible The Front Man spin-off to The Hollywood Reporter, shedding light on plans with the writer of the show. 'Director Hwang and I have been joking about a Front Man spin-off since the beginning. We both thought that the Front Man or the recruiter could be interesting for more story, because we haven't really explored these characters in their entirety yet. Their backstory is still vague, and their character is still a little murky.' While the details have not been set in place, they seem open to trying out their options. As for whether the actor would appear in it himself, there was positive inclination from his end, 'To look at the Front Man with a full character study would be a very fun thing to do. So, as for your question — of course I'd be willing to star in it. The character has already been built and designed, and I'm very compelled by him. Just as the fans are curious to know more about him, I am too. That's a story I'd be very willing to tell.' How did Squid Game 3 end? Lee Byung Hun, who played The Front Man in all 3 seasons of Squid Game, remained alive at the end of the series. He can be seen closing off loose ends by handing over the money that belonged to Lee Jung Jae's Seong Gi Hun to his family, and Player 222's baby gets all the money after winning the game. Wi Ha Joon's Hwang Jun Ho turned into the guardian for the kid. With his Cate Blanchett encounter, who seems to have taken over The Salesman role after Gong Yoo's end, it appears more than likely that a The Front Man spin-off could be possible. Previously, Hwang Dong Hyuk looked interested in exploring a story between seasons 1 and 2 to talk about what happens with Seong Gi Hun as he wins 4.56 billion KRW and investigates the origin of Squid Game.
