Cate Blanchett has addressed how her hugely-secretive Squid Game guest appearance in the show’s final episode came about and where it could go next.
The South Korean Netflix phenomenon bowed out this summer after becoming the biggest show ever to hit the platform, detailing a dystopian death match that’s now entered the popular vernacular, with a pink and green wardrobe that’s Halloween-ready.
Among the many surprises during the final season, at the top of the list was Blanchett, 56, appearing in the final scene as a Squid Game recruiter based in Los Angeles.
In the scene, the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) is driving through the city when he looks down an alley and spots Blanchett’s character, suited and booted, playing a game of ddakji with a homeless man.
The set-up is identical to how Gong Yoo’s salesman first recruited Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) on a subway platform at night, playing the same slap-centric version of the game.
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Blanchett has now said the offer to appear on the show ‘came out of the blue’ before she agrred to film the top-secret final scene.
She told Variety: ‘Because it’s such a cult series and they were shooting in LA of all places, everyone was on a need-to-know basis.’
The 56-year-old told the publication that she didn’t even do a wardrobe fitting for the unnamed role, instead bringing her own suit to filming and learning ‘very quickly’ to play ddakji.
‘I had to practice and practice,’ she said. ‘I knew there were four or five setups that they were going to do, and I knew what they needed from every shot, and then I was given the [script pages]. But it was one of the more mysterious jobs.’
Metro’s thoughts on Squid Game season 3
TV Editor Sabrina Barr shares her take…
The final season, which Metro was able to watch in its entirety before the release, is darn near-perfect. Almost.
While creator Hwang Dong-hyuk didn’t initially have the three seasons mapped out, he concludes the tale of Player 456, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) in a seamless way that feels as though it was always meant to be a three-part story.
As for why season three isn’t a clear 10/10, the main qualm I have pertains to a group of characters who are so distracting they bring me back to real life with a sharp jolt – the VIPs.
Their presence is jarring and feels unnecessary, even if the intention is to demonstrate who the game is being held for. But, the final moments of season three genuinely made me jaw drop in the best way possible.
The chief takeaway from Blanchett’s cameo, as well as the scene’s reveal that an international version of the Game exists, was that Netflix appeared to be setting up a show spin-off. It’s not a suggestion Blanchett denied in the interview.
So could she be the star of a new English-language version of the show? Blanchett says she is ‘wildly open to anything’.
‘In a world that is so beautifully, magically created like that, for sure,’ she said.
‘They’re amazing world-builders, and that series has been eaten alive. I don’t think there’s a corner of the globe that it hasn’t touched in some way.’
Squid Game is available to stream on Netflix.
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