The hit dystopian series Squid Game is getting an English-language film remake – and it’s reportedly David Fincher’s next project for Netflix.
What’s director David Fincher’s next film? According to a new report, it’s an English-language remake of Squid Game, the dystopian TV series that was a huge hit for Netflix in 2023.
There have been reports of a film version of the South Korean series for a while, and according to World Of Reel, David Fincher has been quietly developing his take on it since 2021. What’s a little surprising is the suggestion that Squid Game has taken priority over all the other projects Fincher has in the works, including a Chinatown prequel series, written by Robert Towne shortly before he died, and the director’s long-mooted remake of Strangers On A Train.
Fincher has enjoyed a longstanding partnership with Netflix, though (much to the chagrin of Cannes Film Festival boss Thierry Fremaux), and the streaming giant has already sought to capitalise on Squid Game’s unexpectedly huge success with a grim reality TV series. As a result, it’s possible that Netflix has lobbied Fincher to prioritise his remake, which is said to be called Squid Game: America.
The original Squid Game series is about a murderous gameshow in which 100 contestants all compete in various challenges – all based on childhood playground games – in order to win a life-changing sum of money. The twist being that if a challenger loses a game, the consequences are bloodily life-ending. Dreamed up by writer Hwang Dong-hyuk, it’s a blackly effective comment on winner-takes-all capitalism, and it made such an impression on Netflix subscribers that it was said to have made something in the region of £650m in profits for the company.
Two further seasons of the show are planned, with the second run due to stream in late December.
It’s questionable whether the world needs a Squid Game remake, though Fincher’s US version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was an engrossing thriller – and lest we forget, gave us one of the greatest opening title sequences of the last 25 years or so.
Will Fincher indeed make Squid Game: America next, or will it be Strangers On A Train, which is said to have Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt attached? We’ll let you know when any official confirmation emerges.
