Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk knows everybody has burning questions about season two—he just doesn't want go answer them.
"I'm so sick of it," he joked to E! News while celebrating the show's historic 14 Emmy nominations. "I had like five other interviews and all of them asked me about season two. But what can they do? They have to ask and I have to answer."
So what was his answer about the highly-anticipated second season, which should arrive on Netflix near the end of 2023?
"I have a set outline," he teased. "I have a treatment of a whole season two episode with new games and new characters. I like it. I think it's good. It's better than what I expected."
Consider us intrigued—and a little scared.
The historical significance of Squid Game's huge Emmy nomination haul—which also included acting nominations for Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Jung Ho-yeon, Oh Young-soo and Lee You-mi, plus writing and directing nominations for Hwang—was not lost on him.
"We are moving away from the old days of the U.S. exporting content abroad and the global audiences enjoying U.S. content only," he said. "The global content is now being appreciated and enjoyed in the U.S. market, as well. This is a really grand moment."
However, Hwang hopes it's just the beginning.
"This is the starting point for the cultural exchanges and understanding and appreciation of different cultures," he said. "Against the backdrop of the Russian and Ukrainian war that is ongoing at the moment, I think these kind of cultural exchanges will help us understand each other better and alleviate some of the conflicts around the world."
Hwang said that he woke up at 3 a.m. to watch the nominations announcement and "already had a few bottles of champagne."
He certainly has reason to celebrate.
The first season of Squid Game is available to stream on Netflix.
The 2022 Emmy Awards will be broadcast live Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST on NBC and will stream live on Peacock.
(E!, NBC and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)