Former BIGBANG member T.O.P (Choi Seung Hyun) will appear in “Squid Game Season 2”, but the casting process was not smooth.
As a result of Star News’ exclusive coverage on July 12th, Choi Seung Hyun attended the first script reading held on June 23rd without hearing that the casting of Netflix’s original series “Squid Game 2” was confirmed.
Script reading is the first step in setting the direction of the work as both the cast and the production team gather together before filming begins in earnest. Basically, the actors attend the script reading after the decision to appear in the work is confirmed.
However, in the case of Choi Seung Hyun’s casting, the order was reversed. According to Star News’ coverage, Choi Seung Hyun did not hear a definite answer until the day of the script reading. Although Netflix is a global company that does not care about Korea, there is a feeling of discomfort in casting Choi Seung Hyun, who has a drug history. Choi Seung Hyun was indicted on charges of smoking cannabis in 2016 and sentenced to 10 months in prison and 2 years of probation. In addition, Choi Seung Hyun is a person who announced his intention to retire from the entertainment industry as well as withdraw from BIGBANG.
Accordingly, Choi Seung Hyun attended the script reading amid uncertainty over his appearance in “Squid Game 2”, and immediately participated in a group photo shoot. The photo was released on June 29th.
“Squid Game 2” conducted a script reading on June 23rd and announced the second casting lineup including Choi Seung Hyun on June 29th. Netflix is said to have prepared another version because they will not be able to use the photo taken in advance if Choi Seung Hyun’s casting fails. After such a rough process as well as many considerations, the production team, including Netflix and director Hwang Dong Hyuk, finally confirmed Choi Seung Hyun’s casting.
As is already known, Choi Seung Hyun will play a retired idol who worked as a singer in the past. The character required an actor who could dance as well as rap, and director Hwang Dong Hyuk chose T.O.P himself despite the controversy. In particular, suspicions of “personal connection casting” arose as Lee Jung Jae, who leads “Squid Game 2”, is close to T.O.P.
However, at that time, Lee Jung Jae’s agency Artist Company explained, “The casting of the work is the director and the production company’s authority. We would like to reiterate that the claim of Lee Jung Jae being involved in the casting of ‘Squid Game 2’ is not true.”
Netflix also stated, “The casting of actors in Netflix’s works is determined by the creators, including the director, writer and production company, according to their creative intentions, and Netflix respects that.”
Aside from actors Lee Jung Jae, Lee Byung Hun, Wi Ha Joon and Gong Yoo, who appeared in season 1, Im Si Wan, Kang Ha Neul, Park Sung Hoon, Yang Dong Geun, Park Gyu Young, Jo Yu Ri, Kang Ae Shim, Lee David, Lee Jin Wook, Choi Seung Hyun, Roh Jae Won and Won Ji An will join to lead season 2. “Squid Game 2”, which is known to have a total production cost of more than 100 billion won, begins filming this week and aims to be released in 2024.
Source: Daum
