The Squid Game season 2 scene took more than 2 weeks to shoot

The long wait between seasons of Play octopus can be at least partially blamed on the fact that director Hwang Dong-hyuk never intended to make more Play octopus in the first place. But according to a new report to The packagingit can also be attributed to how incredibly intricate and demanding the production of the series is. The last season”it took three years to complete, six months to write and one year to film,” according to the broadcast, and “It was quite physically and mentally exhausting,” star Lee Jung-jae admitted.

One of the problems is coordinating a huge cast with lots of extras (even more than the previous season, as Lee’s character Gi-hun is focused on saving as many people as possible). Writing the season required coming up with new games on an even larger scale. Six-Legged Race, for example, “took more than two weeks to shoot,” according to Hwang. The stage reportedly contained about 360 players and 150 crew members in an enclosed space filled with gravel, and “Everybody got really sick” and kicked up dust every day, Hwang said.

The finale climax also required a lot of time and effort. Building the set of various bright stairs “took about six months,” per The packaging. The stunt itself required seven days of training from the stunt coordination team. And the filming itself “took between seven and 10 days.”

On top of that, each and every game required precision from the hair and makeup team to keep track of each character’s blood and sweat. Seam hair and makeup designer Son Eun-ju say it, “Without working in perfect synchronization, it would have been impossible to keep track of situations involving over 400 people, which made us worry about whether we could finish successfully.” Fortunately for Netflix and for the clamoring fans, they did—and they’ve already finished the third season (airing in 2025), so everyone involved can earn some well-deserved rest. You can read the full (spoiler-filled) report on Play octopuss intricacies here.