Squid Game US Remake Cancelled: Why Netflix Shelved David Fincher's 'Heckler' Spin-Off Series

Netflix has cancelled the highly anticipated Squid Game spinoff that was meant to be set in the US. The South Korean Netflix series ended its third season with a stinger last year, but it seems that any future plans to continue the series outside of Korea have been shelved.

The series followed Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), a gambler with money troubles who is recruited for a contest to earn ₩45.6 billion (£23.7 million) where failure at any point means death. The first season of Squid Game debuted in 2021 to critical acclaim and became a flagship series for the streaming platform, but it seems the show is over.

The final episode of Squid Game Season 3 teased Cate Blanchett as a new recruiter in the streets of LA, indicating that the story would continue overseas. Rumours that David Fincher, director of critically acclaimed films such as Fight Club and Se7en, would be helming the spinoff, were put to rest according to recent reports.

The Reasons Why Squid Game's US Spin-Off Fell Through

The overseas spin-off, tentatively titled 'Heckler', was unable to enter production for multiple reasons. Fincher's schedule became too busy with his new film to pursue the spin-off, while Netflix shifted their resources to other projects.

'After years in development and various executive changes at the streamer, the sources believe Netflix's priorities for the franchise have shifted,' reports claimed.

Netflix has had an infamous history of releasing English-language adaptations of critically acclaimed shows and anime, such as Death Note and Cowboy Bebop, that were panned by audiences. It is unclear whether the scope of these executive changes will shy away from these approaches, but for Squid Game, the answer seems to be 'yes'.

Forbes magazine was not enthusiastic about the premise for the spin-off. 'Netflix is well-known for often cancelling shows that it shouldn't, but on rare occasions, it is justified in doing so.' Forbes continues. 'This time? It's scrapping a bad-sounding project before it even has a chance to make it to air.'

Forbes also cited issues with Squid Game's later seasons as a justification for the spin-off's cancellation.

'It had an awkward split between seasons 2 and 3, which felt like one season cut in half,' the magazine wrote. 'Those seasons also reportedly more than tripled their budgets from $21 million to $69 million (£15.52 million to £51.01 million).'

Is There Still A Future For Squid Game?

Netflix may have scrapped future plans for the Squid Game spin-off, but the future of the franchise remains open-ended.

While Fincher is currently busy with a different spin-off to Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Netflix is shifting its focus towards 'versions tailored to individual international markets' rather than English-language spin-offs. Whether this would entail a reworking of the Squid Game spin-off remains to be seen.

Despite Cate Blanchett's appearance at the end of Season 3, series director Hwang Dong-hyuk denied that her cameo was connected to the spin-off. However, Cate Blanchett says she is 'wildly open' to returning for any Squid Game projects in the future.