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Squid Game season 3 release date, trailer, theories and latest news
The end is nigh for Gi-hun and his fellow survivors.
Netflix
- David Craig
- , Molly Moss
Published: Monday, 16 June 2025 at 11:54 am
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*Warning: This article contains full spoilers for Squid Game season 2*
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Squid Game season 3 is now just two weeks away, with a new trailer looking back on the epic saga to date – and teasing more thrills, heartbreak and action to come.
We last saw Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) as his arch-nemesis The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) gunned down his best friend in front of his eyes, putting their attempted rebellion to an abrupt stop.
In the final Squid Game season 3 trailer, available below, we see a defeated Gi-hun return to the dorm room, where he is chained to a bed as the macabre challenges get underway once more.
It's not yet clear which games will be played in the final episodes, but the clips below offer some hints, including a look at a rematch of the Korean playground activity from which the show derives its title.
Also notable is the several shots of mother Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim) without son Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun) – could it be that this particular double act is going to end in tragedy? Get speculating now!
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If you're eager to know more, read on for everything we know about the third season of Squid Game so far – including the confirmed release date on Netflix.
Squid Game season 3 release date
Yang Dong-geun as Yong-sik, Kang Ae-sim as Geum-ja in Squid Game season 3. No Ju-han / Netflix
CONFIRMED: Squid Game season 3 will be released on Friday 27th June 2025 on Netflix.
The announcement came during the streamer's Next on Netflix publicity event and followed weeks of rampant speculation, which flared up when a video uploaded to Netflix Korea's YouTube channel reportedly named the very same date (via Forbes).
It puts almost exactly six months between the second and third seasons, which is a reasonable wait indeed, made possible by the two entries being shot back-to-back.
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Lee recently said he is "nervous" about the release of season 3.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at Netflix’s Tudum event, he said: "We are going to be releasing quite soon and I am very nervous. I know that a lot of you out there are curious about what’s going to happen in season 3, but all of us are more curious about how much you’re going to enjoy it. So, I can’t wait, I’m very nervous."
Meanwhile, asked jokingly whether a spin-off could be on the cards in the interview with Radio Times magazine, Lee responded: "We definitely need to get Hwang Dong-hyuk on board, so can someone please lure him into creating that spin-off?"
He added: "Or maybe just another season of Squid Game?"
Squid Game season 3 cast: Who could return?
Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3. Cr. No Ju-han/Netflix © 2025
Squid Game season 3 will see Lee Jung-jae return to the lead role of Seong Gi-hun (aka Player 456), along with all the surviving players from the previous season – and devious villain The Front Man (played by Lee Byung-hun).
Alas, a few fan favourites were eliminated in the preceding seven episodes, meaning we probably won't be seeing any more from Lee Seo-hwan as Jung-bae, Lee Jin-wook as Park Gyeong-seok, Choi Seung-hyun as chaotic rapper Thanos or Won Ji-an as Se-mi.
Netflix has confirmed the following actors will return for season 3, with a special appearance by Park Hee-soon:
- Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun
- Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho
- Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho
- Im Si-wan as Lee Myung-gi (Player 333)
- Kang Ha-neul as Dae-ho (Player 388)
- Park Sung-hoon as Hyun-ju (Player 120)
- Yang Dong-geun as Park Yong-sik (Player 007)
- Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee (Player 222)
- Kang Ae-shim as Jang Geum-ja (Player 149)
- Park Gyu-young as No-eul
- Chae Kook-hee as Seon-nyeo (Player 044)
- Lee David as Min-su (Player 125)
- Roh Jae-won as Nam-gyu (Player 124)
Squid Game season 3 plot theories
Won Ji-an as Se-mi in Squid Game season 2. No Ju-han/Netflix
Season 3 is set to be the hit series's last, so we expect creator Hwang Dong-hyuk will pull out all the stops for it.
"A failed rebellion, the death of a friend, and a secret betrayal," the official synopsis teases. "But the Squid Game stops for no one, so Gi-hun will be forced to make some important choices in the face of overwhelming despair as he and the surviving players are thrust into deadlier games that test everyone’s resolve."
Meanwhile, a chilling mid-credits scene following season 2 hinted at a second round of Red Light, Green Light, featuring an additional targeting robot to render Gi-hun's clever strategy obsolete.
Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk previously explained how season 2 and 3 relate to one another in an interview with RadioTimes.com.
He said: "Towards the end of season 2, you will see Gi-hun go through a very important and significant event, almost the pinnacle of his character arc, and season 3 is when you will be brought to that closure of Gi-hun’s journey.
"And I think with season 2, you will be in the middle of that progress, that intriguing journey of following Gi-hun and thinking to yourself: 'Will he be able to put an end to this game? Will he succeed, and how will he?'"
It has since become clear that the "important event" referenced by Hwang in the above quote is the execution of his best friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) in front of his very eyes.
Lee Seo-hwan as Jung-bae in Squid Game season 2. No Ju-han/Netflix
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hwang continued: "The third season will really explore that sense of loss and failure, that guilt weighing so heavily on Gi-hun. How’s he going to navigate the story further with all of that weighing down on him?"
Asked whether he sees the story continuing, he added: "Personally, I see the third season as being the finale to this story. That’s because I believe I’ve had closure to the story I wanted to tell about society through the character of Seong Gi-hun.
"If I ever wanted to go back to the world of Squid Game, it would be about different characters with a different story arc. Some kind of spin-off, maybe. For example, the masked guards. How did they end up here? Something like that, maybe."
Plenty of ideas have been posited for what might happen in the next season of Squid Game, with outgoing star Lee Seo-hwan telling us his own dark theory in a recent interview.
Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee in Squid Game. No Ju-han/Netflix
That said, it's still quite possible that Dong-hyuk will take things in an unforeseen direction, with co-star Jo Yu-ri (who plays pregnant player Jun-hee) talking down the speculation in an interview with Japanese website Cinema Today.
She teased: "It seems like a lot of people have been predicting the contents of season 3, but it seems like not many of them have gotten it right, as I thought. A truly unimaginably brutal and cruel story awaits, so please look forward to it."
In a separate interview with RadioTimes.com, Jo Yu-ri addressed speculation that Player 001 (aka The Front Man) could take pity on her, as he is aware of her condition from his own brief stint as a plant inside the game.
Staying cryptic, she simply stated: "There is a possibility. You can never rule out any possibilities!"
Meanwhile, after some fans expressed disappointment over his anticlimactic role in season 2, actor Wi Ha-joon (who plays detective Hwang Jun-ho) assured us that his character's stories "will be dealt with in depth" when Squid Game returns.
Squid Game season 3 trailer
The latest season 3 trailer has now landed, which you can watch below.
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The first trailer (below) landed on Tuesday 6th May, teasing more horrors to come for the players.
The footage opens with a coffin being delivered to the players.
It contains the body of Lee Jung-jae's Player 456 (aka Seong Gi-hun), who is alive, albeit bruised and bloodied, and who will be forced to endure a new selection of twisted games for the final time.
Perhaps the coffin is a stunt, or perhaps it foreshadows Player 456's end.
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Squid Game seasons 1-2 are available to stream on Netflix. Season 3 arrives on Friday 27th June. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
David CraigSenior Drama Writer
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
Molly MossTrends Writer
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
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