Netflix has abandoned its planned English-language expansion of the hit Korean series as the streamer shifts its franchise strategy.
Cate Blanchett’s mysterious Squid Game cameo sparked speculation that Netflix was secretly setting up David Fincher’s long-rumoured English-language spinoff.
It turns out fans may have been looking for clues that were never there.
Sources close to Fincher have reported that Netflix is no longer moving forward with ‘Heckler,’ the working title for the filmmaker’s planned expansion of the Korean survival phenomenon.
Fincher and Utopia creator Dennis Kelly developed the project as an American take on Squid Game, with Kelly writing the script.
The series aimed to bring a darker Western perspective to the franchise’s themes of wealth, desperation and deadly competition.
However, after years in development and changes within Netflix, the project reportedly lost momentum.
Netflix is now shifting its Squid Game expansion strategy away from a single English-language spinoff, instead exploring potential adaptations designed for different international markets.
Blanchett’s appearance as an American recruiter in the Squid Game finale fuelled speculation, but reports reveal Netflix never attached her to Heckler and Fincher’s team did not create the character for the project.
The actress has previously said she would be “wildly open” to returning to the franchise.
While Netflix continues expanding the Squid Game brand through projects like Squid Game: The Challenge, Fincher’s version would have marked the franchise’s first scripted English-language extension.
With the director now focused on Netflix’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth, it appears Fincher’s Squid Game has officially been eliminated.
