Director Hwang Dong-hyuk is writing a film that is "more violent" than even Squid Game.
Dong-hyuk discussed his plans for a movie tentatively titled Killing Old People Club, during a panel at MipTV trade fair on April 4. According to Variety, he predicted it will be "another controversial project," joking that he may need to hide from elderly people when it's released.
The director said he's already written a 25-page treatment for the feature, which is based on the work of late Italian novelist Umberto Eco.
In addition to Killing Old People Club, the director is due to return to South Korea, where he will finish writing the second season of Squid Game, Variety also reported. Dong-hyuk said that he hopes to release new episodes by late 2024.
He credited Netflix for believing in his vision, sharing that they were the only company to bet on the gritty series—he finished writing it in 2009—which follows impoverished individuals as they compete in childhood games with the goal of taking home a cash prize. Those who fail to win are killed ."I waited and waited, and I made like three features," he remembered, adding that when he pitched it to the streamer in 2016 they said they "love[d] it."
Dong-hyuk suggested that Netflix was the best home for the award-winning series because other companies thought it was "too violent and investors would have been so worried."
Netflix's bet paid off: The show made history during awards season, becoming the the first foreign-language series and first Korean series to earn a nod from the Screen Actors Guild in January. Actors Jung Ho-Yeon and Lee Jung-Jae took home the awards for Best Actress and Actor in a Drama Series.
Following their nominations, Dong-hyuk credited the stars for making the show a success, saying in a statement, "I want to truly thank not only the cast who have been nominated today but also all of the supporting and the near-300 background talent. Squid Game would never have been what it became without the devotion and hard work of every single one of you. You deserve all the glory and credit."