Is David Fincher Working on Squid Game? How the Midhunter Showrunner Can Adapt Popular Franchise

Still from Squid Game
Credit: Netflix; Fair use for news and promotional purposes

Still from Squid Game
Credit: Netflix; Fair use for news and promotional purposes

It was no surprise that Squid Game from Hwang Dong-hyuk was a phenomenal hit for Netflix, and they’ve been trying their best to milk the franchise with an upcoming second season and the reality show spinoff.

While the second season is expected to come out later this year, it’s been announced that Mindhunter creator David Fincher is going to be working on an English-language adaptation of the series, but what can fans expect?

David Fincher to Develop Squid Game Adaptation

Deadline reports that Fincher is going to developing an English-language adaptation of the hit series Squid Game. Not much details have been released for Fincher’s version of the show, but it has been speculated that this could be his main focus for the next year.

Admittedly, when the news dropped, a lot of fans were actually complaining that Fincher would rather work on an adaptation of an arguably perfect series as compared to just working on the third season of Mindhunter which ended on a huge cliffhanger.

If anything, a Squid Game adaptation could be the win that Fincher kind of needs right now. After Mindhunter, Fincher’s projects have actually been considered less than stellar to what he’s delivered before. Mank and The Killer were no Gone Girl-level successes. Probably the best-reviewed work that Fincher has had in a while was Love, Death & Robots—which he actually directed an episode of (the one with the giant murder crab).

What Can Fans Expect from a David Fincher Squid Game?

For now, all fans can really do about Fincher’s Squid Game is speculate on what direction it can go. While the first expectation would be that it’s a straight-up English remake, a filmmaker like Fincher might go a different direction that may not be what fans expect from the get-go.

With the game implied to have audiences from all over the world, it’s possible that Fincher’s Squid Game could focus on a different game that happens in the same universe, but in a different location. Maybe it can even be an origin story of sorts to the character of Oh Il-nam, the old man who runs the game and is even an willing participant.

There would probably be a lot of story to mine for the character—especially considering that the twist that he was actually the main villain all along is considered to be one of the biggest gripes that fans have about the series.

What’s In Store for Squid Game at the Moment?

For now, the OG Squid Game is waiting for the release of its second season later this year. Fans don’t know what to expect, but the lead character Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) is implied to be returning in order to take down the games from the inside.

It’s also said that a second season of the reality show Squid Game: The Challenge is in the works, but I doubt that Netflix wants to push forward with that seeing as they got sued by participants because off terrible shooting conditions.

No release date has been set for Fincher’s adaptation of Squid Game, but the second season is expected to premiere on Netflix on Dec. 26.