Netflix Cancels David Fincher’s Squid Game: America Spinoff
Netflix has officially canceled Squid Game: America, the planned American spin-off connected to Squid Game that David Fincher was set to direct. After years of development and shifting momentum behind the scenes, the streaming service has changed priorities and will not move forward with the series.
Release and platform update
| Project | Platform | Status | Planned production detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squid Game: America | Netflix | Officially canceled | Filming originally planned in London (instead of the U.S.) |
After Squid Game concluded, Netflix aimed to expand the franchise with a new series exploring deadly games in other territories. The concept for Squid Game: America was to be a fully separate story from the main show, featuring a new cast facing the U.S. version of the games.
Why Netflix stopped the spin-off
The project was reportedly halted due to a shift in Netflix’s priorities for the Squid Game franchise following extensive development. The plans had moved beyond just an idea—Dennis Kelly (creator of Utopia) was brought on to write the series after previously working with Fincher on a discarded HBO adaptation of Utopia.
Despite the early momentum, multiple factors contributed to the stall, including changes in Netflix leadership during the long development period, Fincher moving on to other work—such as The Adventures of Cliff Booth—and Netflix’s preference for building Squid Game projects tailored to specific countries and international markets, rather than treating one American spin-off as the franchise’s central expansion.
What happens next
It remains unclear whether Netflix will revisit Squid Game later with new projects. For now, the cancellation suggests the franchise may be heading into a prolonged pause after this planned expansion fell through.
