Forbes says it may be 'time to let go' of 'Squid Game' after reported U.S. spinoff cancellation

Forbes targeted the reportedly canceled U.S. spinoff of Netflix’s “Squid Game” (2021-25), describing the decision as “scrapping a bad-sounding project before it even has a chance to make it to air.”

Forbes described plans to make a U.S. spinoff of the Korean series as “certainly […] eyerolling” in a report on Friday, adding, “Whether or not it would have been a big hit is unclear, but surely not at the scale of the original.”

The report follows news that the spinoff, tentatively titled “Heckler,” has been scrapped, according to U.S. entertainment outlet The Playlist.

Forbes also pointed to the original series’s declining viewership due to long gaps between seasons — and increasing production costs — as a reason to question whether the U.S. version would have succeeded.

“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.”

According to U.S. outlets, the spinoff reportedly lost momentum after director David Fincher became occupied with other projects, including “The Adventures of Cliff Booth,” Netflix’s sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019).

Fincher, regarded as one of Hollywood’s leading filmmakers for works including “Fight Club” (1999) and “Zodiac” (2007), also directed the Netflix original film “Mank” (2020), which received 10 Academy Award nominations and won Best Cinematography and Best Production Design.

The development could also be interpreted as Netflix placing greater weight on the awards prospects of Fincher’s upcoming film, as the streaming service continues to pursue Oscar recognition.

Additionally, the Playlist reported that Netflix “appears more interested in exploring versions tailored to individual international markets” rather than building its content strategy around English-language spinoffs.

Cate Blanchett appeared in the “Squid Game” finale as an American recruiter in Los Angeles, but the director of the Korean series, Hwang Dong-hyuk, denied that her cameo was connected to the spinoff. Blanchett later said in an interview with Variety that she was “wildly open” to returning to the series in any form.

With the first season of “Squid Game” becoming a global phenomenon and delivering Netflix its biggest hit, versions of the show aimed at countries outside the United States could still be produced. However, they may have been affected after the original’s later seasons were criticized for diminishing the series’s artistic quality.

When the second and third seasons were released, Time criticized the later installments for undermining the first season’s political and artistic message by emphasizing commercial appeal, and The Guardian criticized them for a lack of plausibility.

“It’s unknown if Netflix will still try to expand the ‘Squid Game’ brand,” Forbes reported. “For once, maybe it’s time to let a franchise go, even if it was hugely popular for a time.”

BY NA WON-JEONG [[email protected]]