Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has addressed concerns around the upcoming reality show based on the Netflix series.
Netflix announced plans to adapt the survival drama, which follows contestants who take part in a series of life-threatening games to win a huge cash prize, into a reality show competition back in June.
The show, titled Squid Game: The Challenge, will see contestants compete for a cash sum of $4.56million (£3.65million) in a series of games inspired by the show – without the violent stakes.
When it was announced, many were quick to highlight that a Squid Game reality show goes against the point of the series – which, as Dong-hyuk has previously described, is a “fable about modern capitalist society”.
Speaking backstage at the Emmys on Monday (September 12) about the reality series (via Variety), Dong-hyuk said he’d met with the creators and hoped “that they will be carrying on my vision and intention as much as possible”.
“I think that even though our show does carry quite a heavy message – and I know that there are some concerns of taking that message and creating it into a reality show with a cash prize,” Dong-hyuk said.
“However, I feel like when you take things too seriously, that’s really not the best way to go for the entertainment industry. It doesn’t really set a great precedent.”
He added: “I would say that reproductions of such efforts are going to bring new meaning to the industry, and I hope that this is going to be a great new direction for the industry overall.”
Squid Game: The Challenge is a 10-episode series co-produced between Studio Lambert (The Circle) and The Garden, part of ITV Studios, and will be filmed in the UK. A release date for the series is yet to be announced.
The Netflix series recently made history at the Emmys, after Lee Jung-jae became the first Asian actor to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
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