Hwang Dong-hyuk on killing off his 'Squid Game' characters and wanting to work with Jake Gyllenhaal

Viewers may gasp, cringe or cry out watching characters die on Netflix's “Squid Game,” but those simulated deaths have a different effect on its creator, writer and director. Instead, Hwang Dong-hyuk feels happiness seeing them go.

The show has a huge cast and Hwang says it was “really difficult” to manage everyone on set.

As characters would die, Hwang recalls saying to the actors on their last day, “‘Oh no! How sad! I won’t see you tomorrow,' but I was always smiling inside.”

“Squid Game” season two premieres Thursday. It once again stars Lee Jung-jae and centers around a secret competition in South Korea that targets people in debt and the winner gets a big cash prize. What they don't know is that losing the game is deadly.

Hwang originally conceived of the show 15 years ago as a two-hour film but it failed to gain traction with financiers or even interested actors. He put it aside and worked on other films instead. He then had the idea to make it a TV series instead and took the project to Netflix. There, it could reach a wide audience.

“I never in my wildest dream thought it was going to be this huge,” said Hwang, who spoke with the AP about the show and what comes next. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.

HWANG: I learned that I shouldn’t give up. If you love something and if you want to create something, it might not work now, but the time might come later. Or that idea could be the source of inspiration for something else.

HWANG: I'm afraid to talk about it but it's a feature film taking place 10-20 years in the future. It's darker than “Squid Game.” It’s going to be quite cruel, quite sad, but at the same time quite quirky and humorous.

HWANG: I used to think you had to have a specific taste to be cool, but I actually think I’m very omnivorous. I like to watch anything. When I’m on the couch watching TV, sometimes I watch CNN or Fox News. And then National Geographic and nature documentaries, I also watch some very soapy Korean shows or reality TV as well. I hop around and watch everything that’s kind of happening in the world. With a series, I often don’t stick with it the whole way through. There’s only about like five shows that I watched until the very end, like “Breaking Bad” and “Why Women Kill.”

HWANG: Of course. I studied film school at the University of Southern California and there are so many people I'd love to work with. I have had those offers since “Squid Game,” but because I'm a writer-director I think I'm best when I’m working with Korean actors, giving direction in Korean with my Korean script. But, if I come across an amazing scrip, why not? I'd love to work with Jake Gyllenhaal.

HWANG: With seasons two and three, I had more screen time for more characters. This time around we have a lot of younger characters. When I was creating season one, I thought it was very hard for you to be up to your neck in debt when you’re only in your 20s or 30s. I thought you had to be at least middle-aged to need money and want to join the Squid Game. But the world has changed. Now I feel like there are less decent jobs for young people and they feel like working hard doesn't even get them to middle class. They want to hit the jackpot, so that's why they invest in cryptocurrency. In Korea, there are a lot of young people in their early 20s or 30s turning to online gambling. I wanted to show what society really is like today.

HWANG: It's better than season two.

This image released by Netflix shows Lee Jung-jae in a scene from "Squid Game." (No Ju-han/Netflix via AP)

Lee Byung-hun, from left, Yang Dong-geun, Hwang Dong-hyuk, Jo Yu-ri, Im Si-wan, Kang Ae-sim, Lee Seo-hwan and Lee Jung-jae pose for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Lee Byung-hun, from left, Yang Dong-geun, Jo Yu-ri, Hwang Dong-hyuk, Kang Ae-sim, Lee Seo-hwan, Im Si-wan and Lee Jung-jae pose for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Hwang Dong-hyuk poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Hwang Dong-hyuk poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Hwang Dong-hyuk poses for a portrait to promote the second season of "Squid Game" on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Iran appeared to be moving closer Wednesday to an initial agreement to end the war, as U.S. President Trump sought to pressure Tehran with threats of a new wave of bombing if a deal is not reached.

Trump posted on social media that the two-month war could soon end and that oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict could restart. But he said that depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the president did not detail.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump wrote.

Trump made his latest comments after he suspended a short-lived U.S. effort to force open a safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which major oil and gas supplies, fertilizer and other petroleum products passed before the war.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the global economy and put enormous economic pressure on countries, including major powers such as China.

China's foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire Wednesday after meeting in Beijing with Iran's top envoy. Wang Yi said his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict, which began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran.

China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the strait.

The White House believes it is near an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to end the war, according to reporting by Axios. There is not an agreement yet, but the provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, lifting of U.S. sanctions, distribution of frozen Iranian funds and opening the strait for ships.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the possible agreement.

Trump said in his social media post that it was “perhaps a big assumption” that Iran would agree to the terms being offered by the United States.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump said.

A shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Tehran has largely held since it began April 8. Pakistan hosted in-person talks last month between Iran and a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance, but the talks failed to result in a deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's visit to China was his first since the war began.

His arrival came ahead of a planned visit by Trump to Beijing for a high-profile summit on May 14 and 15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The trip would be Trump’s first to China during his second term and the first by a U.S. president since Trump visited in 2017.

“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed, that a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable, and that it is particularly important to remain committed to dialogue and negotiations,” Wang said in a video of the meeting.

The Chinese foreign minister said the conflict “has not only caused serious losses to the Iranian people, but also had a severe impact on regional and global peace.”

In a televised interview with Iran’s state media from Beijing, Araghchi said his visit included discussions of the Strait of Hormuz as well as Iran's nuclear program and sanctions imposed on Tehran.

Iran has attained “an elevated international standing” after the war, having proven its capabilities and strength, Araghchi said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that Beijing would reiterate the need for Iran to release its chokehold on the strait, its main source of leverage, as Trump demands a major rollback of its disputed nuclear program.

A statement published on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website said China values Iran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons while affirming its “legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

Hundreds of merchant ships remain bottled up in the Persian Gulf, unable to reach the open sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. said it had opened a safe shipping lane through the strait Monday and sunk six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships. But Trump announced Tuesday he was pausing the effort, dubbed Project Freedom, to see whether an agreement with Tehran on ending the war could be reached.

A cargo container ship operated by the CMA GGM Group was damaged, and multiple crew members were wounded when it came under attack while transiting the strait Tuesday, the French shipping company said without providing details. It said the injured crew members were taken off the ship and are receiving medical treatment.

Oil prices and shipping will not likely return to normal until the risk of attacks in the strait has receded, said Kaho Yu, head of energy and resources at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

“Refiners, shippers and commodity traders will remain cautious until there is clearer evidence that Hormuz disruptions will not re-escalate,” he said.

Among them is Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world's largest shipping companies. It said in a statement that the strait's shutdown is costing it around $60 million per week, with rising fuel and insurance costs hitting particularly hard. The company said alternate routes to other harbors or over land are limited.

Only two American-flagged merchant ships are known to have passed through the U.S.-guarded route.

An oil and chemical tanker operated by Crowley-Stena Marine Solutions safely exited the Persian Gulf on Monday, the company confirmed. Shipping company Maersk earlier said one of its vehicle carriers had also transited the strait “accompanied by U.S. military assets.”

The spot price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell to around $100 per barrel Wednesday, easing significantly from big price jumps earlier in the week. The prices are still well above the roughly $70 a barrel that crude was selling for before the war began.

Castillo reported from Beijing and Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo; David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany; and Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

In this photo released by the Telegram channel of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second from right, meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, center left, and their delegations in Beijing, China, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Minister via AP)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, is greeted by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi prior to their bilateral meeting in Beijing, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Cai Yang/Xinhua via AP)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, talks to his Iranian Counterpart Abbas Araghchi, left, during the bilateral meeting in Beijing, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Cai Yang/Xinhua via AP)

In this photo released by the Telegram channel of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing, China, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Minister via AP)