The creator of Squid Game has said that he realised the VIP characters in the story “resemble” tech billionaire Elon Musk while writing the show.
During the drama, whose third and final season debuted last Friday (June 27), the deadly Squid Games are viewed by a set of masked VIPs, wealthy individuals who fund the game. They watch the games in person and make bets on certain competitors. While anonymous, they appear to be Western individuals who speak to each other in English, rather than Korean.
Speaking to Time, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confessed he found parallels between the characters and Musk, who leads the companies Tesla, SpaceX, and X, as well as making headlines for his work with current US President Donald Trump.
“Elon Musk is everywhere these days, right? Everybody talks about him,” Hwang said. “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 three), of course I thought, ‘Oh, some of the VIPs do kind of resemble Elon Musk’”.
He also added that the decision to have some VIPs unmask and be involved in the games themselves came from the political climate in America. “In the past, those that really controlled the system and maintained power, they were hidden behind the curtain, almost like this big unseen conspiracy,” he explained.
“However, it’s no longer the case, especially in America. 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. 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’”.
Squid Game season three is now available on Netflix. Recently, Hwang discussed the possibility of there being a prequel series in the future.