The casting for the second season of the hit show Squidward has been revealed, and Netflix and the show’s creators have been criticized. Their handling of the sensitive topic of ‘drug actors’ was different.
On June 29, 2023, Netflix announced additional casting for the second season of the globally popular Netflix original series, “Squid Game” (“Squid Game 2”).
In addition to Lee Jung-jae and Lee Byung-hun, who are already enjoying global popularity, a number of other stars were revealed at the same time, including Im Siwan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon, Cho Yoo-ri, Park Kyu-young, and Lee Jin-wook, raising expectations for season 2. However, the name that stood out among them was Choi Seung-hyun, whose revealed photo revealed that he was a former BIGBANG member.
It was a surprise casting. While most of the actors announced today were rumored to be in the cast, Choi Seung-hyun wasn’t even ‘rumored’ to be in the cast. It was a very secretive casting that wasn’t even rumored. Choi Seung-hyun is Top’s real name when he was an actor.
Netflix went on to describe Choi as “a boundaryless artist who has delivered impressive performances in films such as ‘Tazza – The Hand of God’ and ‘Alumni’.” They didn’t mention that he was formerly of the group Big Bang.
‘Squid Game 2’ has been in production for some time now, with every actor, from big names to small roles, dreaming of appearing in it, and recently held a massive audition. It’s no exaggeration to say that every actor in the country applied, and the controversial casting of Choi Seung-hyun was pushed through despite the fact that ‘lack of talent pool’ and ‘no alternative for this role’ are lame excuses on so many occasions.
The casting announcement was met with a lot of unflattering publicity, and rightly so, as Choi was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence in 2017 for inhaling cannabis.
Top enlisted as a medic in February 2017, but was later found to have inhaled cannabis at his home in 2016. He was tried while in the military and sentenced to 10 months in prison and two years of probation. He was later relieved of his medic status and completed his military service as a social worker.
In response, netizens posted aggressive comments on Top’s Instagram, such as, “Just restrain yourself. Don’t even think about coming back,” he hinted at retiring from the entertainment industry, saying, “I don’t intend to either,” and has since kept a low profile. He did not re-sign with his agency, YG Entertainment, in 2022, and made his departure from Big Bang official in May.
Will Top’s casting be influenced by Lee Jung Jae?
In the midst of all this, Top’s relationship with “Squid Game” star Lee Jung Jae has come under fire, with claims that his best friend had a hand in his casting.
In response to the growing criticism, Lee Jung-jae’s representative emphasized that he was not involved in the casting, saying, “The casting of a work is the right of the director and the production company,” and “Lee Jung-jae knows more than anyone that many actors are interested in ‘Squid Game 2’ and are trying to be cast and are decided through auditions.” Netflix also made an official statement.
Netflix also weighed in with a statement. “Casting decisions for Netflix shows are made by the creators, including directors, writers, and production companies, based on their creative intent. Netflix respects that.” Netflix said that it does not get involved in casting, but only respects the intentions of the creators.
This puts the blame for Top’s casting on director Hwang Dong-hyuk, whose controversies have led to his departure from the entertainment industry and voluntary retirement.
Of course, casting is the director’s prerogative, but it’s hard for a casting to be finalized without the approval of Netflix, which pays for the production, so criticisms of a double standard are inevitable.
Top’s return to acting comes about nine years after the 2014 movie “The Hand of the Other. He hasn’t acted in over a decade, although he has been a singer and actor. His hiatus from acting may have been of his own volition, but it was also influenced by the industry’s reluctance to cast him due to his drug history.
There have also been a number of drug scandals in the entertainment industry recently, which has increased public sensitivity. There is a growing sentiment that a mace should be brought down on entertainers with a history of drug use.
As a result, Netflix was more sensitive than any other OTT to the drug issues of its actors. That’s because actor Yoo Ah-in, who had a strong partnership with the company in the drama “Hell” and the movie “Operation Seoul”, scattered ashes over his pending works due to suspected drug use.
Currently, Netflix is indefinitely delaying the release of Yoo Ah-in’s films “Match” and “The Idiot of the Apocalypse” and is closely watching the outcome of the trial.
In response, Netflix immediately cast Kim Sung-cheol as a replacement actor before filming “Hell 2,” the series in which Yoo Ah-in was starring, in a complete “erase Yoo Ah-in” move.
Netizens have been criticizing Netflix for their contradictory attitude, saying that they “respect” the casting of Top, who has been convicted of drugs in the past. Netizens have been saying things like, “Is it a big plan to have Top return and then have Yoo Ah-in return later?”, “Why not Yoo Ah-in but not Top?”, “Isn’t it Netflix’s role to stop the creator from making this choice?”, and “Do they want to increase the number of cases of drug actors returning?”.
With such a questionable choice, what is Netflix’s role?