Squid Game’s creator has teased some of what’s to come in the show’s highly anticipated second season, as well as one of the season’s biggest hurdles.

Squid Game season 2 is still a long way off, but series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has shed some light on the biggest challenge facing the production. Currently, it seems that Dong-hyuk is developing and fleshing out ideas for where the show could go next. As one of the biggest shows on Netflix, it’s no wonder that Squid Game season 2 has a steep curve to overcome in creating a follow-up to its explosive first season.

Squid Game centers on a world in which hundreds of impoverished people compete in deadly versions of children’s schoolyard games for a lucrative grand prize. Often viewed as a metaphor for the ills of capitalism and growing wealth disparity, Squid Game deftly used the death-game genre to comment on the failings of modern society. However, it’s Squid Game’s wide variety of challenges and games that give the show an extra edge that makes the series the perfect combination of entertainment and social commentary.

According to creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, in creating new versions of these decisive, deadly games lies the greatest challenge for him in developing Squid Game season 2. In season 1, the games were the show’s main selling point, drawing viewers in with their surprising, violent twists. And, as Squid Game season 1 featured a major twist, it’s likely that the nature of the games will have to match the stakes of that twist going forward and provide new surprises to the show’s viewers.

As an example, Squid Game first gained notoriety due to the title game introduced in episode 1, “Red Light, Green Light”. A familiar game to most, in which players have to race to a finish line without being caught in motion by a robotic model of a schoolyard girl, the sequence turns violent quickly and is one of the most memorable moments of the show. For Dong-hyuk, who is now challenged with replicating the success of season 1, it’s likely that season 2 will feel the need to try to recreate this sequence in a way that elevates and ups the stakes beyond that of the Squid Game’s sinister competition and grand prize.

Much of the excitement of Squid Game’s first season also came from the show’s twists and turns, as well as the reveal of the death-game nature of the show’s eponymous competition. However, now that many viewers will return to the series well-aware of the show’s central conceit, it’s likely that Dong-hyuk will need to come up with new ways to surprise his audience, mainly with the show’s in-world games. Elevating and escalating the stakes, nature, twists, and drama implicit in these games to an even higher degree will more than likely help the development of Squid Game season 2.

Second seasons are always tricky, and Squid Game is no exception. Following up the success of one of the world’s most highly binged shows (and a tantalizing season 1 ending) is no small feat, though it seems that series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has the right approach to progressing his material. If he’s able to make the games and challenges of Squid Game just as surprising and compelling the second time around, undoubtedly season 2 will be just as memorable as the first.

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