Squid Game, stars and stripes remake?
Squid Game it may soon snag an American remake. According to Jeff Sneider of The Ankler, Netflix would be thinking of expanding the success of the Korean TV series – the most watched title ever in the history of the streaming platform – by creating an American version of the TV series. Currently these are rumors that have neither been confirmed nor denied by the company in Los Gatos, California. Netflix does not routinely comment on i rumor, therefore this silence is not circumspect.
What we know for sure is that Squid Game represents a franchise on which Netflix is playing its future – and its profitability – in the medium to long term. In addition to the already confirmed second season (there is also talk of a third), the streaming service has announced a reality show inspired by the games of the TV series with the highest prize pool in the history of game shows: a good 4.56 million dollars.
The decision to make an American remake of Squid Game it wouldn’t surprise many people, as the Korean TV series turned out to be a surprise hit. At its debut – which took place in September two years ago – in fact, the series was present on the platform in the original version with subtitles in many countries. Only after revealing itself as a cult phenomenon, Netflix proceeded to make local dubs available.
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The US version of Squid Game — if it’s done — could open up the series to a wider audience, one that may have desisted from watching the Korean original because it was too culturally distant from their sensibilities. American television audiences are still disinclined to watch foreign TV series, and from this point of view an American remake could be the right way to capitalize on the success of the series.
To be fair, however, the risk of another flop like the film’s Death Note it’s around the corner. Part of the charm of stories like Squid Game it is precisely their distance from the west; in making a US remake you can only end up making one whitewashing of a story that, to be honest, doesn’t have much of an American character.
