‘Squid Game’ creator lost ‘8 or 9’ teeth from stress of season 1

Despite his teeth falling out from the stress of production from season 1, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk is stepping back into the arena for a second season.

Addressing past reports that he lost six of his teeth, Hwang clarified to BBC in a recent interview that it was actually about eight or nine teeth. The South Korean director and screenwriter did not intend to create a follow-up to the Netflix megahit, so what made him change his mind?

Two things, the first being the most obvious: “Money,” Hwang said. “Even though the first series was such a huge global success, honestly I didn’t make much,” he revealed. “So doing the second series will help compensate me for the success of the first one too.”

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Secondly, “I didn’t fully finish the story,” he added.

Acting as biting commentary on the socioeconomic divide and wealth inequity, the first season starred Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun (also known as Player 456), one of many cash-strapped contestants who put their lives at risk to compete in a series of deadly children’s games for a hefty cash prize.

The second season will pick up three years after Seong Gi-hun’s big win and follow him as he re-enters the game. “He wants to return to a ‘normal’ so-called life,” said Hwang during a Netflix event earlier this month, but “there’s something inside him that has already been broken where he cannot return to the way he was before.”

A huge chunk of characters were, of course, killed off in the debut season, leading Hwang to start from scratch with a new batch of faces. But expect to see some familiar ones beyond player 456: Lee Byung-hun will reprise his role as Front Man, whose backstory will be fleshed out in the upcoming season 2.

Expectations for the new season are high, and “the stress I feel now is much greater,” Hwang admitted to BBC. And, well, let’s just say another trip to the dentist might just be in order. Hwang’s teeth are beginning to ache once again. “I haven’t seen my dentist yet, but I’ll probably have to pull out a few more very soon,” he said.

Squid Game returns Dec. 26 on Netflix.