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The Creator of Squid Game has Revealed an Alternative Ending and he Hopes to “Surpass Expectations” in Season 2.

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The fate of the Squid Game was almost entirely different.

With Seong Gi-hun, a.k.a Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae), having decided not to board a plane to see his kid; instead, he reversed course on the jet bridge in order to seek revenge on the vicious game that almost took his life as well as those of the other 455 contestants who perished during the games. It was previously reported that there will be not one, but two seasons of Squid Game. Season 1’s final sequence is axed by the developer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who explains that Gi-hun’s life-altering choice swung in the opposite direction in an earlier version.

“We struggled when we had to choose between two different endings,” Hwang explains. “The ending you did not see, the other alternate conclusion, had Gi-hun boarding the plane and leaving. Then there was also the one where he would go back and walk towards the camera. Is it really appropriate for Gi-hun to make the decision to leave and go home to see his family in order to pursue his own happiness? Is it the most effective approach for us to present the question or message we wanted to convey through the show?”

Hwang decided to end the series on a cliffhanger, hinting at a potential second season, owing to the deeper meaning behind it. “We discovered that the problem we wanted to address cannot be solved if he boards a plane.,” Hwang says. “The solution we seek to solve — why has the world gotten to where it is today? — may only be answered or suggested if Gi-hun turned back and walked towards the camera, which is why we ended up with that conclusion in the finale.”

Despite the fact that Netflix has not yet renewed Squid Game for season 2, Hwang recently stated to the Associated Press that “there will be a second season,” but it is “too early” to say when it will air. Hwang talks about how the show will “surpass” fan expectations if and when it returns, how far he’s gotten in preparation for a second season, and as well as where he is in planning a sequel.

The Squid Game is blowing up all over the world! What has it been like to watch it grow into a worldwide phenomenon, especially because you’d spent so long working on it?

HWANG DONG-HYUK: When you’re making something like this, do you think it’s possible, or even likely? I wonder if we’ll be able to get No. 1 in the United States. Maybe our series will be appreciated all over the world. But we had no clue and didn’t expect this to happen so fast, or in so many places around the world. Of course, I had no clue that Squid Game would become Netflix’s most-watched program ever, so I’m still in awe. Over the past two months, I’ve gone through a roller coaster of feelings.

Squid Game’s second season has yet to be greenlighted, but the finale nicely prepared for a second season of Gi-hun’s tale. What are your thoughts on Squid Game Season 2?

Season 2 has been generating a lot of interest and comments, as you might imagine. I do have a general idea of what will happen. I’m currently working on the finer points, but nothing has been decided about the second season of Netflix or how it will end; therefore, I’ll just say that I have a basic story line in mind.

What will you do differently for the second season of Squid Game, now that it has such a large global following?

It’s tough to meet the fans’ expectations. I go to YouTube and see all of these fans who have invented what the second season should be like or will be like, and their imaginations are going wild. If there were to be a second season, I’d want to stick to the basic narrative that I have in mind. I’m hoping that it exceeds the fans’ expectations, but I have no idea how difficult this will be. Their desires are incredibly vast and numerous, so I believe it’ll be tough to figure out exactly what the fans want.

What was the most important thing you learned throughout the first season that you’ll be able to utilize when making Season 2?

It’s been a wonderful journey, and it’s far exceeded my expectations. There are so many little things about it that the fans have noticed and interpreted to even greater heights than I had imagined. I’m not sure how I feel about this, but sometimes they’ll take little things that are in fact blunders or happy coincidences and turn them into something entirely different. As a result, I was forced to pay greater attention to the small stuff. I will not make any mistakes, however small they may be, regardless of how long the episode lasts. I’d try to add more joy to the fans and, if possible, more Easter eggs in the future seasons.

How have your achievements as a creator been impacted by Squid Game’s success?

So I’ll say there is a lot of pressure, because we got so much more love and support and encouragement than we could have ever expected. While the success is fantastic, it has also granted me many opportunities and opened up many doors for me, and it is a tremendous opportunity; at the same time, the amount of love, support, and attention I’ve gotten has certainly built up a massive level of expectation in terms of what I’m going to offer into the world next. There’s definitely a lot of tension. I’d say that the success of Squid Game has given me an amazing opportunity, but it has also brought with it a great deal of stress. It’s a sort of, “What if?” scenario that occurs to me a lot. What if the world is really obsessed and interested in Squid Game? It makes me want to work really hard to produce something that will address contemporary problems as well as social issues we will see in the near future in a similar way to how Squid Game does it, which is entertaining, intriguing, satirical, and restorative at the same time.

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Netflix Is Getting Involved In The Meghan And Harry Saga

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Fans of the British royal family were ecstatic when it was announced in May that Netflix will release an “At Home With” style documentary series focusing on none other than royal rebels Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex (via Page Six). The pair, who now live in California with their two children, struck a lucrative distribution deal with Netflix to share their life story.

According to several sources, the film’s release date has been evolving for weeks; will Netflix be able to air it in time with Prince Harry’s much-anticipated memoir, which is set to be published this fall, or will it not appear on screens until next year? A rep for Netflix stated at the time, “The announcement has not been made yet, and things are still in flux” (Page Six).

However, new information suggests that Netflix is attempting to capitalize on the fuss surrounding the royal family by releasing Meghan/Harry, a documentary series at the same time they release the next season of their blockbuster hit, “The Crown.”

What Netflix is aiming to do

Netflix is working “extremely hard” to release the docuseries about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by the end of the year, according to an inside source, in order for it to be available on living rooms throughout the world in time for both Prince Harry’s upcoming tell-all book and the network’s own royal drama “The Crown.”

“There’s a lot to organize and a lot of things going on here,” said one source to Page Six. “Netflix wants to make sure they don’t get scooped by Harry’s book, so they’re coming in hard.” The fifth season of “The Crown” is set to premiere on Netflix this November (via BTV). The final season will pick up in the 1980s, focusing on the marital issues faced by Princess Diana and Prince Charles, Harry’s parents.

It’s uncertain whether Netflix will be able to actualize this mythical combination, but we’ll keep you informed!

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Instagram knows you don’t like its changes. They don’t care.

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Instagram has released numerous improvements in recent years in an attempt to transition from a social media platform to an e-commerce behemoth, messaging application, and, most recently, a short-form video discovery platform comparable to TikTok.

Now this public identity crisis is bleeding into its user base.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, addressed the situation on Tuesday morning in a bid to prevent further damage. Wearing a bright yellow pullover and facing the camera, he attempted to quieten a mounting rebellion from prominent Instagrammers.

On Sunday, Kim Kardashian West and other high-profile personalities shared a black-and-white image that read: “Make Instagram Instagram Again. (Stop trying to be TikTok I just want to see cute photos of my friends.) Sincerely, everyone.” The viral story, written by a 21-year-old influencer named Tatiana Bruening, has more than 1.9 million likes as of Wednesday morning.

In the video, Mosseri explained that the app was in transition and that some features, such as a full-screen feed, were simply tests. “There’s a lot going on on Instagram right now,” he said. “We’re experimenting with a number of different changes to the app, and so we’re hearing a lot of concerns from all of you.” But the rapid succession of new features and tests has prompted even its most devoted users to ask if Instagram itself understands what it’s doing.

“Instagram has become overcrowded with so many different types of content happening at the same time,” Bruening said. “Everyone has been feeling the same thing at the same time, but a lot of people have been too afraid to say anything.”

Many changes to the app have been made, including but not limited to: eliminating chronological timelines, elevating photo posts, and downplaying algorithmic discovery. A Change.org petition initiated by Bruening aims to restore many of these features, including a chronological timeline, priority for photo postings, and removing the Reels video tool. By Wednesday morning, it had more than 190,000 supporters.

Instagram, which has more than 1 billion monthly active users as of 2021, is still vulnerable to competition from TikTok, which boasts about 400 million monthly active users. While Instagram continues to outpace TikTok in terms of total number of users, short-form video app use has exploded in recent years. In 2020, TikTok became the most-downloaded app in the world, and its young user base began spending more time on it than Instagram and Facebook. The earnings report from Instagram’s parent firm Meta is expected to be published on Wednesday, and it will show if TikTok has harmed its market share.

The Instagram controversy has spilled over into the physical realm. Last Saturday, several dozen content producers gathered outside the firm’s New York headquarters to protest its restrictive community standards and modifications that make locating new users difficult.

How to fix your ‘trash’ Instagram feed — at least temporarily

However, the organization is attempting to move closer to the entertainment world. According to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Instagram owner Meta is establishing an advisory board that will include top entertainment executives, managers, and publicists. The plan has been in the works for over a year, but outreach to possible board members began this week. The board will not focus on specific product improvements, but rather on how Meta may collaborate with the entertainment industry more closely. Others, on the other hand, believe Instagram’s intentions may yet be validated because only the platform has the data to see what is and isn’t working.

The fact that Instagram is putting out so much effort to challenge its basic purpose of connecting with friends and relatives, according to some pundits, speaks to how radically social media has evolved. “Making that content harder to access shows the competitive landscape they’re in right now,” said Matt Perault, director of the Center on Technology Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “It might be totally necessary that they pivot, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll succeed in this new world.”

Instagram will have to pay attention to the proper people and navigate the fallout from either side if it wants to weather the storm. “There’s a war between people who want Instagram to be more like Snapchat and people who want it to be more TikTok,” Woodbury said. “Right now the former group is larger and louder.”

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Inside Khloé Kardashian’s Huge Baby News With Tristan Thompson

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Sources tell TMZ that Khloé Kardashian is expecting a baby via surrogate with her ex-boyfriend Tristan Thompson. According to a spokesperson for Kardashian, the news is true. Us Weekly reported that the confirmation read: “Khloé is incredibly grateful to the extraordinary surrogate for such a beautiful blessing. We’d like to ask for kindness and privacy so that Khloé can focus on her family.” The baby was conceived in November, implying the surrogate should deliver any time between August and September.

 

Kardashian and Thompson already have a daughter named True, but the good news is somewhat tempered by the fact that the pair are no longer together. More so, Thompson stated that he had cheated on Kardashian with fitness trainer Maralee Nichols during the pregnancy – and that he fathered a kid with her (via The U.S. Sun). “Khloé, you don’t deserve this,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you.”

 

Unfortunately, Thompson’s vow of fidelity proved to be as insincere as his relationship with Kardashian. Just months later, the couple called it quits after a model accused him of getting too cozy with her, according to Page Six. He was also photographed attending a soiree at which he entered a notorious “hookup room” with three other females. Many people thought the two had split up following these things, but the latest statement has them wondering where they stand now.

Are two-time parents Khloé and Tristan back together?

In the case of Khloé Kardashian’s pregnancy, history is repeating itself. In early 2022, when she was recording “The Kardashians,” Khloé experienced one of the most difficult periods in her life, discovering Tristan Thompson’s latest indiscretion. After years of marriage, it was revealed that four years ago, he had been cheating on her while she was pregnant with their daughter True, who is now three (via Insider). Not to mention, with her younger sister Kylie’s best friend, Jordan.

 

Although she is concentrating on having a second kid, Kardashian is focusing on becoming a mother for the second time. According to ET Online, a source said, “The two have long said they wanted True to have a sibling, and Khloé even told her family she’d do it without Tristan if she needed to.” Her doctor, according to Us Weekly, informed her that if she tried to conceive naturally again, she was at high danger of having a miscarriage. Which is why Kardashian and Thompson decided to move forward with a surrogate. Page Six has also reported that the pair will be welcoming a baby boy, as “Khloé has always wanted a little brother for True.”

 

Fans want to know if this means Kardashian and Thompson are back together. No, according on the ET source: “The two aren’t together and Khloé will have the baby full time, but Khloé wants Tristan in both the kids’ lives as much as he wants to be.” The two had already been cordial for the family’s sake. The pair not only watched True’s dance recital together on Father’s Day 2022, but they also had lunch with the rest of the extended Kardashian family afterwards, as reported by TMZ.

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