As Squid Game‘s tense flagship series draws to a close after three seasons, its real-world parallels remain as timely as ever.
Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk recently acknowledged similarities between the Netflix series’ villainous masked VIPs and Elon Musk after the third and final season debuted Friday on the streamer, despite the antagonists not being based on any real figures.
“Elon Musk is everywhere these days, right? Everybody talks about him,” he told Time. “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.’”
Presented throughout the series as disgustingly rich, English-speaking men who serve as masked spectators for the titular game, they take on a more pivotal role in the final season. “They take their masks off and go into the game and kill others with their own hands,” explained Dong-hyuk.
“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,” he said. “We talk a lot about oligarchy these days, but these so-called big tech owners, they step up, telling everyone who they’re backing with their money.”
‘Squid Game’
No Ju-han/Netflix
Dong-hyuk added, “The people who really control the power and the system, they no longer hide behind a curtain. They willingly take their masks off, almost as if to declare, ‘We’re the ones running everything. We’re the ones in control.’”
The Squid Game series finale comes as David Fincher develops a U.S. remake of the Korean drama.
