Major SPOILERS follow for the final episode of Squid Game Season 3.

You’ve been warned!

A Final Scene That Slaps Open Doors

Squid Game ends with a slap – quite literally. After Gi-hun’s final sacrifice and the emotional gut-punch that closes the games in Korea, the show quietly shifts. A six-month time jump takes us to Los Angeles, where Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), also known as In-ho, pays a sombre visit to Gi-hun’s daughter. He delivers two things: the Player 456 jumpsuit and Gi-hun’s prize money — a symbolic handover that closes one story with quiet finality.

But just as In-ho drives away, from the silence of his car, he hears something unmistakable: the thwap of ddakji tiles hitting concrete, followed by the crack of a slap. He rolls down the window and sees a sharply dressed woman in an alley, playing the same game that started it all. She meets his gaze. It’s Cate Blanchett.

“Alright, let’s go again,” a potential new Squid Game player tells Blanchett’s recruiter. “As you wish,” she responds.

The recruiter resets the tiles. The game continues — not an ending, just a change in location, or perhaps a glimpse at what was always there.

Cate Blanchett Joins the Squid Game Universe

The Oscar-winning actor appears in a brief, wordless cameo, listed in the credits as a “Special Appearance.” Her character plays ddakji — the same slap-and-earn-your-way-in game introduced in season 1 by Gong Yoo’s character, known as The Recruiter or “Ddakji Man.” He infamously returned in season 2’s opening episode, which ended with him taking his own life in a fatal game of Russian roulette opposite Gi-hun.

Now, Blanchett carries the torch — but in a very different setting.

“We thought having a woman as a recruiter would be more dramatic and intriguing,” Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk told Tudum. “And as for why Cate Blanchett, she’s just the best, with unmatched charisma. Who doesn’t love her? So we were very happy to have her appear. We needed someone who could dominate the screen with just one or two words, which is exactly what she did.”

Hwang also spoke about the filming process, recalling how easily Blanchett slipped into the role. “During the shoot, she reminded me of what true talent looks like. Even with just a few looks and lines, her performance was mesmerizing. She was amazing at playing ddakji. I believe she successfully flipped the ddakji with her first try, and we were able to get that one long take right away.”

Actor Lee Byung-hun didn’t share the frame with Blanchett during filming, even though the characters share the scene. “We shot our parts separately with just a camera going back and forth,” he said during Squid Game in Conversation. “In the end, we parted ways without even saying hi.” But that didn’t stop him from admiring her commitment: “I actually saw her practicing it for quite a while on set.”

He also spoke about the weight of the ending: “Personally, I interpret it as, despite all of the noble efforts of so many people, the world still continues as it was before. It’s truly an ending that fits the name Squid Game.”

A Narrative Hand-Off — and a New Chapter?

Blanchett’s appearance may be short, but it’s far from meaningless. “The game in Korea ended with Gi-hun’s sacrifice,” Hwang said in Netflix’s Squid Game in Conversation special, “but I wanted to show that the game was still ongoing elsewhere and that the world had not changed that much. We wanted to say: this isn’t really over.”

Whether the game shown in Los Angeles is a recent development or part of a long-running international operation isn’t completely clear — and that ambiguity is exactly what makes the moment so impactful. Are we witnessing the beginning of Squid Game: America? Or simply confirmation that the rot has been spreading far beyond Korea’s borders? And where does In-ho fit in now, if at all? Will he have a presence in the U.S. branch? Will he receive a punishment for what went down under his watch?

Either way, one thing is certain: the cycle hasn’t stopped.

David Fincher and Squid Game: America

Blanchett’s cameo has also reignited buzz around Netflix’s long-rumoured U.S. spinoff. In October 2024, Deadline broke the story that David Fincher had come on board to develop a new English-language Squid Game series.

“A new English-language Squid Game series is in the works at the streamer, with David Fincher coming on to develop it,” the outlet reported. “While he could squeeze in a movie beforehand, insiders say the Squid Game series is likely the project Fincher commits his time to in 2025.”

Dennis Kelly (Utopia) is reportedly writing the series, which is said to be an original extension of the Squid Game universe rather than a remake. No official word from Netflix yet, but What’s On Netflix claims Fincher is looking to begin shooting in L.A. in December this year. If that is indeed the plan, Fincher will be moving onto Squid Game after wrapping work on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel The Adventures of Cliff Booth, a Quentin Tarantino-written film that’s also set up at Netflix.

Fincher, who has a long-standing relationship with Netflix, feels like a natural fit. With titles like Mindhunter, Love, Death + Robots, and The Killer already under his belt for the streamer — not to mention 1997’s The Game — he’s no stranger to stories built on manipulation, paranoia, and psychological descent.

Whether Blanchett will reprise her role or this was a one-off remains to be seen. But her brief moment here feels purposeful — a handoff in tone and territory, if not in character.

The Game Isn’t Over

The final shots of Squid Game season 3 don’t spell out the future. They don’t need to. What they do is leave us with a chilling realisation: the games are still happening. They may have ended in South Korea, but they persist elsewhere — and the cycle continues.

As Hwang summed it up: “In this story, Squid Game is hosted by a specific group of people, but it serves as a metaphor for the real world, where capitalism fuels relentless competition. So until that ends, the game will not end.”

The slap echoes. The ddakji spins. And across the world, somewhere, someone says yes.

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