Controversial Squid Game Season 2 Star Removed From Second Poster, Cast List

Squid Game released a second poster for Season 2. However, eagle-eyed fans noticed that one of the new faces was missing.

Squid Game was an instant hit when Netflix dropped the first season in September 2021. The South Korean survival thriller horror series dominated the streaming platform’s top chart for weeks and even became the most-watched series, with 1.65 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days. Its success was also evident in the number of awards it received. It won six Primetime Emmys and multiple other accolades from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and more. Thus, Squid Games’ renewal was given and since most of the characters died in the first season, multiple new actors will be joining Season 2. However, one of them was noticeably missing in the show’s second poster.

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Squid Game Season 2 is due later this month and the show dropped a new poster. However, T.O.P, whose real name is Choi Seun Hyun, was left out of the promotional material and removed from the official list of cast members and special guests, per Allkpop. The former BigBang member made a significant appearance in the first trailer released in November, where the participants played the infamous “Red Light, Green Light” game. In the said scene, T.O.P rocks purple hair and tells one of the players “There’s a bee on you.” The startled player reacts and moves and mocks Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who tells everyone to stop because nothing has happened to her. However, shortly after that, she is shot dead, leading to presumably more deaths as the other players can’t help but react to what they have just witnessed.

Allkpop suggests that the omission of T.O.P from the second poster could be due to the backlash received for his past scandal. In 2017, he received a 10-month prison sentence and a 2-year probation after pleading guilty to smoking marijuana in four instances in early October 2016. The judge said crimes related to drugs receive stiff punishment due to their “negative effect” on society, but T.O.P was remorseful of what he did, and it was considered. When the singer-actor arrived at the court, he said he “sincerely regretted causing trouble” and apologized to his fans.

Squid Game seemingly distancing itself from T.O.P due to his previous controversy is understandable. It’s not the first time big production companies omit major cast members in promotional materials due to their personal issues. For instance, in November 2023, many Aquaman fans noticed that Amber Heard was missing in a poster released weeks before the movie was set to hit theaters. Heard, who played Mera in the film, also faced her own legal battle years prior and lost a defamation lawsuit against her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. The actress also testified in court that her role in the film was significantly reduced and the production even wanted to fire her, but she fought to remain in the Aquaman sequel.

Although Heard’s case is not 100% the same as T.O.P, the production’s decision not to involve the controversial cast member in their promotional material was coming from the same position as Warner Bros. when it decided not to include Heard in some posters for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Despite that, T.O.P’s fans are thrilled to see him again on TV. T.O.P is not new to acting as he previously appeared on I Am Sam (2007), Iris (2009), Haru (2010) and Secret Messages (2015).

Squid Game Season 2 premieres on Netflix on December 24, 2024.

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Source: Allkpop