I contacted Jeff Sneider about his having any update on David Fincher’s U.S. version of “Squid Game.” He tells me Fincher is still “quietly working” on the project and that it’s most likely going to happen.
Last year, Sneider reported, via his Hot Mic podcast, that Netflix desperately wanted Fincher to direct “Squid Game.” The streamer wanted to tackle this project “badly”, per multiple of his sources.
Then, we had an update, again via Sneider, that Fincher agreed to helm the project. It was a rather strange development. It’s an odd pairing to say the least, but it could work only for the fact that, much like many of Fincher’s best films, ‘Squid Game’ deals as much with psychological violence as it does with the physical kind.
I can also confirm that, last October, Production Weekly had a posting citing the ‘Squid Game’ American remake and listing Fincher as a producer. No director was mentioned. So, it does look as though this is happening.
The most frustrating part is that, given all the rumors, someone should have probably asked Fincher about “Squid Game” while he was out promoting “The Killer,” but no journalist did. A wasted opportunity.
Word to Fincher: Let’s not do this. “Squid Game” is already very popular and was basically a sanitized version of “Battle Royale” — don’t get me wrong, an entertaining one at that. If Netflix wants Fincher to keep busy and pile up some projects, then just let him make another season of “Mindhunter.”
Fincher has worked on a few remakes in his career. He directed the U.S. version of the ultra-popular Swedish film/novel, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” — that turned out to be a very good adaptation. Whereas, a couple of years ago, he tried to remake Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train” with Ben Affleck, but last we heard, that project has been shelved.
The second season of Korea’s ‘Squid Game’ has already been shot and ready for release. Not to mention Netflix greenlit a spin-off series as well. They’re milking ‘Squid’ to the very end.
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