Actor Lee Byung-hun says his character in Squid Game – known as Front Man – has “zero hope” in the current state of the world and especially in humanity.

“He believes in the utter loss of humanity,” Lee tells StarLifestyle in an exclusive Zoom interview.

“That’s why he keeps pushing Gi-hun (Player 456, portrayed by Lee Jung-jae) to give up on humanity and to fail in his attempt to break the system.”

Lee is dialling in from Seoul, South Korea, to talk to the Asian press about the hit series’ third and final season, streaming on Netflix.

Season 3 picks up exactly where Season 2 left off – with Gi-hun’s rebellion failing disastrously and many of the players who followed him dead, including his best friend.

Meanwhile, the Front Man – who infiltrated the game as Player 001 in the second season – is now back behind the mask to meddle in the surviving players’ choices as each round results in gruesome deaths. All the while, keeping a close watch on how Gi-hun is reacting to what's happened.

Byung-hun, 54, explains why the Front Man is so fixated on Gi-hun: “On the one hand, the Front Man is trying to break Gi-hun’s spirit and have him, you know, fall apart.

“On the other hand, I think he strangely has this underlying envy or jealousy towards him that he is doing something that he himself couldn't do in the past...

“The Front Man sees himself in Gi-hun. That's why he’s so invested.”

The Front Man has zero empathy, says actor Lee Byung-hun.

At the start of the new season, Gi-hun – the sole survivor and previous winner – discovers that nothing he’s done so far has brought an ounce of change in his bid to stop the deadly competition forever.

Worse, the game that pits financially strapped, desperate people continues as before, with the players either killing each other or getting killed in order to win large amounts of cash.

At a press conference held in Seoul and live-streamed to Malaysian and Singaporean media, Jung-jae shares what’s in store for his character in the final season.

“Witnessing the death of his friend, as well as failing to save a lot of the players in the game, Gi-hun is overwhelmed by guilt and despair,” the Emmy-nominated actor says.

But with the game still in play, the 52-year-old actor adds: “Gi-hun must decide what he really needs to do. You’ll see his character evolve from there”.

As Gi-hun makes his next move, the Front Man – who’s watching him closely – comes up with a counterplan.

Byung-hun, describing S3 as “extremely dramatic and intense” at the press conference, adds: “If you see S2 and S3 as one continuous storyline, I believe the true climax lies in S3.

“In many ways, it’s the ultimate showdown between these two characters.”

Gi-hun is overwhelmed by despair at the start of S3.

Of course, Squid Game wouldn't be what it is without its “twisted and fatal” versions of childhood games.

As seen in the Season 2 post-credit scene and trailers for the third season, one of the featured games is a deadly jump rope challenge involving fan-favourite doll Young-hee and a new deadly doll, Cheol-su.

Director-writer Hwang Dong-hyuk, 54, hints further as to what new challenges are in S3.

“As you may have seen in the main trailer, there's a game involving a rotating jump rope that's suspended high above the ground, and there’s a bridge. Some players fall when the rope reaches them.

“There's also a maze-like space where players wear blue and red vests, playing what resembles a game of hide-and-seek. "There may be other types of games happening within that space as well,” he lets on.

Of course, once again, Hwang uses these childhood games as metaphors for modern capitalist society and its underlying conflicts.

He also reveals why he introduced Cheol-su this time around: “Young-hee and Cheol-su are always paired together in our elementary school textbooks – they are best friends.

“So if we were going to have another season, I wanted both of them to appear, especially in a game.

“I wanted the global audience to know that it’s not just Young-hee; there’s also a boy character named Cheol-su. That’s why I added him to Squid Game S3.”

Mechanical doll Young-hee is singing a different tune in S3 and has a new friend too.

Hwang confirms there are no current plans for another season of Squid Game, stating the final chapter will feel complete.

That said, he’s open to exploring more stories within the Squid Game universe if such an opportunity arises.

“Sometimes, as I’m writing, I get curious – what were these characters up to over the years? What were their lives like outside the game?

“That curiosity makes me want to explore more, which is why I’ve thought about doing spin-offs,” Hwang says of the series that premiered in 2021 and quickly became a global phenomenon.

The first season of Squid Game remains as one of Netflix’s most popular shows, garnering 265 million views.

Its second season, which was released in December 2024, made it to the streamer’s global Most Popular Non-English TV list in just three days and has had 193 million views.

Calling the Squid Game journey as “a miracle”, Hwang says: “Everyone wants to have a successful career and a project, but nobody would have expected this much success from one project.

"Over the past five years, I’ve had many meaningful experiences – going overseas, winning awards, meeting fans – but what I cherish most is the time spent on set with these incredible actors.

"Working with them helped me grow both as a person and a creator," surmises Hwang.

Director Hwang Hwang Dong-hyuk (centre) calls his 'Squid Game' journey as a miracle as it allowed him to grow creatively.

Both Jung-jae and Byung-hun agree they’re proud to be part of a layered show that tackles humanity, capitalism and social inequality, while delivering rich characters.

“Whenever I meet fans – whether in Korea or abroad – they each have their own personal reason for loving the show. "And they root for different characters based on who they connect with, which often depends on their personal circumstances,” says Jung-jae.

Byung-hun adds: "I think Squid Game resonates globally because, even though it’s rooted in Korean elements – like the childhood games we all grew up with – it deals with universal themes.

“It’s about conflict, competition and, most of all, the absence of humanity. No matter where you’re from, those ideas hit close to home. 

“It makes you think about the world we live in, and how we can make it better."

Squid Game Season Three premieres on Netflix on June 27.