Mild spoilers for “Squid Game” season 2 follow.
In season 1 of “Squid Game” there was a brain breaking reference that understandably made some viewers heads explode. One of the unfortunate contestants caught up in these games of life and death speaks of well-known Korean actor, Lee Byung Hun, only for Lee Byung Hun himself to be playing the masked Front Man that has been managing the games this whole time. It makes us wonder then, given the arrival of a new contestant named Thanos in season 2 of the series, if the final episode will see a Mad Titan make an appearance as a huge plot twist and it turns out that “Squid Game” is actually all part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Probably not, but stranger things have happened.
In the case of this particular Thanos though, the name is absolutely a reference to Marvel’s feared world-wrecker and Josh Brolin’s ribbed chinned villain that was seen snapped out of existence by Tony Stark in “Avengers: Endgame.” Out of respect to Marvel’s universe shaking bad guy, this Thanos even has purple hair in line with Thanos’ skin color and has his fingernails painted to match the color of the Infinity Stones — a set of stones that would certainly change the game a bit if they were available right now. Alas, the Thanos in “Squid Game” season 2 and the rest of the unfortunate challengers have to depend on their wits to make it out alive. And if the last batch of players are anything to go by, backstabbing is, dare we say, inevitable.
Thanos is a real-life rapper, T.O.P.
In the world of “Squid Game,” Thanos is a rapper who has fallen on hard times after investing in cryptocurrency and losing it all, thanks to the advice of financial YouTuber “Amazing Myung-gi” (Yim Si-wan), who also finds himself in the games as well. In an effort to get back on top, Thanos joins the Squid Game to restore his career, and like everyone else, his bank account. For the actor behind the Marvel-obsessed character, it doesn’t take much to get into the mindset of a massive Korean rap star, given that he’s been one for years already.
Besides the four original characters returning for Season 2 of “Squid Game,” Choi Seung-hyun, also known as T.O.P., is one of the newcomers to the show and has been in the music industry since 2006 where he was lead rapper for BigBang. In 2007 he tried his hand at acting and in doing so, delivered critically acclaimed performances in both television and film, with his turn in Korean war film, “71: Into the Fire,” earning him a nomination for the Asian Film Awards. “Squid Game” would mark the star’s first acting performance in seven years, and while we don’t want to call it too soon, we wonder if he’ll live long enough to see the third and final season. Well, the universe does need balance after all.
“Squid Game” season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
