'Squid Game' returns looking for win with season 2

Stepping onto the set of “Squid Game” season two, Lee Jong-jae felt like he had never left.

“Including promotion, I'd been living with Gi-hun for about two years," said Lee in a recent interview. “I really felt like I was him," he said in a recent interview.

“Squid Game” follows an underground competition in Korea that recruits people in debt to participate in childlike games for money. Once the games begin, the contestants realize there are deadly consequences.

The show was a global hit when it was released in 2021, becoming Netflix's most-watched series. It also won numerous accolades including Primetime Emmy Awards for acting for Lee Jung-jae and directing for Hwang Dong-hyuk. Lee's career catapulted, taking him to the Cannes Film Festival and giving him his first English-language role in the “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte” for Disney+.

Lee says when Netflix ordered a second season of “Squid Game,” he questioned the timeline because it took Hwang years to work on the first one. "I wondered, ‘How many years will it take him to write season two,’" said Lee. Hwang, in turn, surprised everyone — including himself — by taking just six months to write season two and a third and final season. “I'm not sure I'll ever be able to write something that fast again,” he said.

Creating new characters and their individual stories came easily. The biggest, challenge, Hwang said, was deciding what should happen with Gi-hun. Lee says when he read the scripts he thought Hwang “really is a genius.”

It's rare for even successful TV shows in Korea to have more than one season so it was a big swing, even for the new cast.

“There’s a Korean phrase, ‘there’s not a sequel that does better than its prequel,’ said actor Yang Dong-geong, whose character debuts in season two. "I've been careful because we aren't really sure what the reaction will be.” The outlook is positive. Season two has already been nominated in the best drama series category at the upcoming Golden Globe Awards.

The opportunity to work on a project with worldwide appeal is a dream come true for a performer. Lee Byung-hun, who reprises his villain role from season one, has appeared in big budget English-language films like “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra” with Channing Tatum and Dennis Quaid and “Red 2” with Bruce Willis. It's “Squid Game” that he credits for taking his career to another level.

“I’ve been an actor for over three decades and ... maybe most people outside of Korea have never seen anything that I’ve been in. If anyone through ‘Squid Game’ wishes to see more of me or becomes more curious about my previous works, as an actor, nothing would be more rewarding or bring me greater joy."

The audition process moved slowly. Jo Yu-ri recalls waiting two months between the first and second-round. When she finally got the part Jo says, “I actually remember crying.” The actors were asked to not speak publicly about their casting to wait for Netflix to make an announcement. “There were a couple of close friends that popped champagne for me when they found out," said Yang.

Netflix's “Squid Game” universe is also growing. A second season of a reality competition show based on the series has been ordered and an English version is in development. Season three of the original has also completed filming and is in post-production.

Season two is not without controversy. The new episodes feature a transgender character played by Park Sung-hoon. Hwang says he understands why hiring a trans actor would have been ideal, but that the casting is a reflection of how the LGBTQ community and gender identity is viewed in Korea.

“To be honest with you, in Korea, when it comes to the LGBTQ and gender minority community and culture compared to the Western worlds, it’s not as widely socially accepted yet. Unfortunately, a lot of the groups are marginalized and neglected from society, which is heartbreaking," said Hwang.

“We don’t have a very large pool of actors that allow for authentic casting when it comes to transgender characters. We did our research. We tried to find someone who we thought could be the best fit. However, we weren’t able to.” Hwang also went on to say that Park's talent and approach to the character ended up making him “the perfect fit.”

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Leslie Ambriz in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Lee Seo-hwan poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Lee Byung-hun poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Kang Ae-sim poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Im Si-wan poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Lee Byung-hun poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Lee Seo-hwan poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Jo Yu-ri poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Jo Yu-ri poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Lee Byung-hun poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Hwang Dong-hyuk poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Lee Jung-jae poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Lee Byung-hun poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Im Si-wan poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Yang Dong-geun poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Kang Ae-sim poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Lee Byung-hun, from left, Yang Dong-geun, Hwang Dong-hyuk, Jo Yu-ri, Im Si-wan, Kang Ae-sim, Lee Seo-hwan and Lee Jung-jae pose for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Lee Jung-jae poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Jo Yu-ri, from left, Lee Byung-hun, Lee Seo-hwan, Hwang Dong-hyuk, Im Si-wan, Lee Jung-jae, Yang Dong-geun, and Kang Ae-sim arrive at the premiere of the second season of "Squid Game" on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, at Los Angeles City College in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Actor Lee Byung-hun poses during a photo call for Netflix's "Squid Game" season two at Metrograph on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Actor Lee Jung-jae poses during a photo call for Netflix's "Squid Game" season two at Metrograph on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Lee Byung-hun, left, Hwang Dong-kyuk and Lee Jung-jae pose together during a photo call for Netflix's "Squid Game" season two at Metrograph on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Lee Jung-jae in a scene from "Squid Game." (No Ju-han/Netflix via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare is expected to be arraigned in a Manhattan court Monday on murder and terror charges in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution.

Luigi Mangione, 26, was formally charged last week by the Manhattan district attorney with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism. His initial appearance in New York State Supreme Court was preempted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting.

The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges are life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first.

Authorities say Mangione gunned down Brian Thompson as he was walking to an investor conference in midtown Manhattan on the morning of Dec 4.

Mangione was arrested in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s after a five-day search, carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting and a fake ID, police said. He also was carrying a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and especially wealthy executives, according to federal prosecutors.

At a news conference announcing the state charges on Tuesday, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said the application of the terrorism law reflected the severity of a “frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.”

“In its most basic terms, this was a killing that was intended to evoke terror,” he added. “And we’ve seen that reaction.”

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, an attorney for Mangione, has accused federal and state prosecutors of advancing conflicting legal theories. In federal court last week, she called their approach “very confusing” and “highly unusual.”

Mangione is being held in a Brooklyn federal jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried.

He was extradited from Pennsylvania on Thursday and quickly rushed to New York City, where he was seen wearing an orange jumpsuit as he was led away from a helicopter by heavily armed police officers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Adams said he was hoping to send a message to the suspect: “I wanted to look him in the eye and say you carried out this terroristic act in my city — the city that the people of New York love,” the mayor told a local TV station. “I wanted to be there to show the symbolism of that.”

An Ivy-league graduate from a prominent Maryland family, Mangione appeared to have cut himself off from family and friends in recent months. He posted frequently in online forums about his struggles with back pain. He was never a UnitedHealthcare client, according to the insurer.

Thompson, a married father of two high-schoolers, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance arm in 2021.

The killing has prompted some to voice their resentment at U.S. health insurers, with Mangione serving as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills. It also has sent shockwaves through the corporate world, rattling executives who say they have received a spike in threats.

Luigi Mangione, charged with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is escorted by police in New York, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)