“It will be more violent than 'The Squid Game'”: the director of the series, Hwang Dong-hyuk, announced his new film

“It will surely be another controversial production,” said Hwang Dong-hyuk, the director of Squid Game, about his new project, a feature film about which is already working, entitled Killing Old People Club (something like Elderly Killers Club).

During MIPTV (Marché International des Programmes de Télévision, which takes place annually in Cannes), the director performed with his production company, Jun Young Jang, of February Films, and made the announcement. With almost 25 pages developed, the project is underway and “will be more violent than The Squid Game,” Hwang promised.

K.O. Club —as the title abbreviated— is inspired by the work of Umberto Eco, the famous Italian essayist, who also authored fictions such as the literary bestseller The Name of the Rose. Hwang did not give details about the plot, although he joked that he planned to hide for a while from the elders once the film is released.

In addition to confirming that he was preparing to return to South Korea to write the second season of Squid Game, which could arrive on Netflix by the end of 2024, Hwang told some anecdotes about his career, including “the best praise” he ever received: “Steven Spielberg told me: 'I watched all the episodes in three days, and now I want to steal your brain! '” , he recalled. “He's my movie hero,” he defined the Oscar winner for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List. “I grew up watching his movies.”

Originally, The Squid Game was also conceived as a feature film, in 2009, but in the 10 years that passed — Hwang shot three films — until he got interested and became a series. “It was too violent,” he told the reasons that frightened investors, who feared that a rating for seniors would greatly reduce the number of audiences. But he was confident that “in the future the right time would come for this material”.

After waiting patiently, Squid Game was released in September 2021 and became a phenomenon: it exceeded 1.65 billion hours watched in more than 142 million homes around the world. Shortly after plans for a second season were revealed, the cast received Golden Globes and SAG Awards.

While the series opened doors to the world, Hwang was already an experienced filmmaker, who has been working in the industry since the early 2000s. Three of his films — none as violent as the series — are available on the platform: Miss Granny, Silenced and The Fortress.

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