American Squid Game Spinoff Series Reportedly Canceled at Netflix

Netflix has reportedly chosen to shelve David Fincher’s American Squid Game spinoff series, according to sources adjacent to the project.

Reports of the spinoff archetypal surfaced successful 2024, and it’s been dilatory going ever since then. Dennis Kenny, creator of the 2013 British thriller bid Utopia, was attached to constitute the script, with Fincher acceptable to direct.

However, thing moved guardant for months — astatine least, not publicly. Then, successful November 2025, the amusement was listed connected the Film and Television Industry Alliance website with the rubric ‘Squid Game: America.’ The tract listed a sprout day for February 2026 successful Los Angeles, but fixed this astir caller information, it’s harmless to accidental this is nary longer the case.

Sources informed The Playlist astir the spinoff’s cancellation, telling the outlet that Netflix’s goals for the franchise person substantially changed since Fincher’s mentation was archetypal conceptualized. Insiders suggested that Netflix was initially anxious for an American instrumentality connected their record-breaking Korean series, but are present focused connected exploring stories wrong the Squid Game beingness successful “individual planetary markets” — though whether that means country-specific spinoffs (such arsenic Squid Game: Brazil, Norway, etc.) remains unclear.

The Playlist’s sources reportedly “stressed” that specified determination versions of the amusement are not known to beryllium successful the development, though Fincher’s Squid Game: America seems to firmly beryllium a happening of the past. As for wherefore this happened, sources gave a fewer reasons, pointing to a agelong accumulation process, changes astatine the enforcement level wrong Netflix, and Fincher taking connected different projects similar his movie The Adventures of Cliff Booth.

This makes Cate Blanchett’s astonishment quality astatine the extremity of Season 3 adjacent much confusing, though it was confirmed that her engagement successful the amusement wasn’t tied to Fincher’s series. It did straight hint that determination were much versions of the Games retired determination successful the world, and acceptable up a aboriginal follow-up exploring players and the VIPs successful different countries.

Squid Game’s archetypal creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, antecedently bandied astir the thought of a spinoff bid exploring what happens to its characters successful the clip skip betwixt seasons 1 and two. However, helium besides confirmed that Season 3 was the end-all, be-all finale of the full story, saying, "It's the finale for the full series. The full show. It's clip to accidental goodbye."

For now, it’s anyone’s conjecture arsenic to what Netflix has planned for Squid Game arsenic an IP, but those itching for much Korean thrillers connected the streamer should crook their eyes to Mask Girl, different dark, time-jumping bid that hits galore of the aforesaid tonal notes (minus the deadly childrens' games).

IGN has reached retired to Netflix for comment.

Image Credits: Netflix

Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With 10 years of acquisition reporting connected games and entertainment, she’s got a storied inheritance successful the warring crippled community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her connected Twitter astatine @TheeMissGlaze.