When ‘Squid Game’ first took the world by storm in 2021, no one could have predicted just how deeply it would resonate with fans. Now, with the final and most emotionally intense Season 3 released on 27 June, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has peeled back the curtain.
He revealed the deeper inspirations behind the series’ masked VIP villains and why the show’s finale was completely rewritten in the eleventh hour. This included him comparing the unhinged VIP’s to Elon Musk.
Hwang Dong-hyuk Explains How Elon Musk Inspired The VIPs In ‘Squid Game’
In a candid interview with Time magazine, Hwang Dong-hyuk reflected on the elite and mysterious VIPs that loom large over the Squid Game narrative. These figures bet on the lives of desperate contestants as if watching a twisted reality show. While they may have seemed like generic representations of faceless power in the earlier seasons, Hwang admitted that Season 3 made the resemblance to real-world figures more direct.
Related: ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Finale: Meaning Of Gi-Hun’s Last Words Explained
In particular, one tech billionaire kept coming to mind: Elon Musk. “Elon Musk is everywhere these days, right? Everybody talks about him,” Hwang noted. “Not only is he the head of a huge tech company that controls the world almost, but he’s also this showman. After writing Season 3, of course, I thought, ‘Oh, some of the VIPs do kind of resemble Elon Musk.’”
It’s a statement that has sparked discussion across social media. After all, Musk is a figure who exists in stark contrast: admired for his innovation, critiqued for his power, and impossible to ignore. Just like the VIPs in ‘Squid Game‘, Musk seems capable of shaping the world with a tweet or turning global attention toward Mars while chaos brews back on Earth.
In Season 3, the VIPs shed their passivity. No longer content to merely observe, they enter the fray as masked guards, executing eliminated players themselves. It’s a terrifying shift. “They take their masks off and go into the game and kill others with their own hands,” Hwang explained. “In the past, those that really controlled the system and maintained power they were hidden behind the curtain, almost like this big unseen conspiracy. However, it’s no longer the case, especially in America.”
Gi-hun’s Ending Wasn’t Supposed to Be This Way
Hwang also surprised fans by revealing that the show’s emotional climax was originally envisioned very differently. The ending, which has sparked tears and debate in equal measure, sees Gi-hun sacrificing his own life so that Jun-hee and Myung-gi’s newborn daughter might survive the game. His death is not a moment of defeat but of deep meaning.
In case you missed it: 15 Most Shocking ‘Squid Game’ Moments, Ranked
In doing so, Gi-hun becomes the very embodiment of hope. He is someone who believes in kindness, even in a world built on cruelty. “It was a very drastic change from my first idea to what ended up being the final story,” Hwang said. “When I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do in Seasons 2 and 3. I had a different ending in mind. But while writing the characters and shaping Gi-hun’s story, I realized this should not be the way it ends. The new ending made more sense emotionally and was better for his character.”
Hwang didn’t elaborate on the original ending, but he did hint that Gi-hun was originally supposed to make a darker choice. This could be him either surviving the game or joining the system he once opposed. However, in the version we received, Gi-hun’s journey comes full circle.
