Squid Game‘s lead actor Lee Jung-jae had guessed the survival thriller would be a smash hit even, before the eight-episode instant favorite landed on Netflix in September. In fact, he even mentioned the prospect of opening a theme park based on the deadly games that appear in the show.
The talented South Korean actor portrays Seong Gi-hun, a role for which Jung-jae gained international stardom and recognition. Besides Squid Game, Lee has starred in the erotic thriller, The Housemaid, and the South Korean action film, Deliver Us from Evil.
When Squid Game released, it became Netflix’s most-watched series to date. Seong Gi-hun, is a compulsive gambler that’s down on his luck and in debt to the tune of millions. In an attempt to change his fate, he enters a contest comprised of children’s contests with a deadly twist, and risks his life for the chance at winning 45.6 billion.
Before Squid Game hit television screens globally, Jung-jae knew that he had taken part in something very special. In an interview with People magazine, he revealed that while filming the Red Light, Green Light scene, he approached the series creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, and shared his suggestion.
He proposed that Dong-hyuk make a theme park based on the Squid Game trials, assuming that the entire world would want to visit. Read the revelation in Jung-jae’s own words below:
“On the first day when we were shooting red light, green light, I saw the gigantic Young-hee robot and 456 people in green sweats running for their lives, and I suddenly got the feeling that it was going to be very big,” he recalls. “So I went and told [Hwang] and the crew, ‘I think this is going to be really popular. You should make a theme park right now, you should make sure that that robot’s there, and people could play the six games that are in this show.”
It would seem that Lee had guessed correctly. When it aired, Squid Game reached 142 million households across 94 countries in just 28 days. It marks an impressive feat or an Asian-led production to capture the attention of half the world. Soon thereafter, Dong-hyuk unveiled plans to develop Season 2 and 3 — months after the initial release.
Given the open-ended cliffhanger from the final episode, the possibilities are endless. If and/or when Squid Game returns, Lee Jung-jae will be reprising his role as Seong Gi-hun, but his theme park idea might have to be put on the back-burner for the moment.