Squid Game writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk has confirmed that the show will be returning for a second season, though it's too early to say when it will be back on our screens.

Hwang told the Associated Press that Squid Game Season 2 is in the works, following the soaring success of the South Korean survival drama's first season, which arrived on Netflix in September. The first season saw hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in various children's games — with deadly high stakes.

COMEBACK SQUID: Hwang Dong-hyuk, the director, creator, writer of #SquidGame says the show will be back with more Gi-hun adventures. pic.twitter.com/uqC1DIdZqy

— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) November 9, 2021

"There's been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season. So I almost feel like you leave us no choice!" Hwang exclaimed. "But I will say there will indeed be a second season. It's in my head right now. I'm in the planning process currently. But I do think it's too early to say when and how that's going to happen."

Although he wouldn't divulge any details or even share a timeframe for the follow-up season, Hwang did reveal that Squid Game's main protagonist Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, would return for some more adventures. "I will promise you this, Gi-hun will come back," Hwang told the Associated Press. "He will do something for the world."

The director previously pondered how the story could evolve beyond the nine episodes of the first season, which was left open-ended with plenty of loose threads waiting to be tied up. Hwang suggested that the next season might not be strictly about the contestants, though, as he's actually interested in further exploring the role of the Korean police.

Squid Game scored the biggest series launch ever on Netflix and is expected to generate almost $900 million in impact value for the company, yet the show was stuck in development for 10 years. And when Netflix finally went ahead and produced the show, Hwang revealed the intensity of the shoot caused him to lose six teeth to stress.

IGN awarded Squid Game a 9 out of 10, calling it "one of the most exciting series to hit Netflix in some time." We praised the way it unravels the story to deliver "a white-knuckle thriller, drama, and episodic psychological breakdown with a sickly pastel veneer," which is "equal parts gut-wrenching and squirm-inducing" for both the players and the audience.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Sega recently filed new trademarks for a number of its franchises including one for a game called Sonic Frontiers, which may well be the name for Sonic's mysterious 2022 entry.

As reported by Gematsu, the video games publisher filed a number of new trademarks last month, including a move to secure a trademark in both Japanese and English for a new game called Sonic Frontiers – a move that has prompted speculation around its still-unnamed upcoming Sonic project.

While the publisher hasn't stated the purpose of the trademark, it is possible that it could be the name of the new Sonic Team game currently in development by the studio. The game was initially teased back in May during a short trailer that showed Sonic running through a forest-like setting and confirmed a 2022 release date.

Despite announcing the project a number of months ago, the game is still yet to receive an official title. At the time of the teaser's release, a range of trailer files and a hastily altered press release seemed to suggest that the game might take the name Sonic Rangers, though this was never confirmed by Sega or the Sonic Team at the time.

Rumours have centred around the idea that the new Sonic game could take an open world approach, something that the name Frontiers would tally with, although it must be stressed that this amounts to speculation at this point.

Aside from the game's initial teaser, little else has been shown off by the developer that could point fans in the direction of a potential title for the game. Whether Sonic 2022 takes the name Sonic Rangers, Sonic Frontiers, or something completely different, it seems that Sega and the Sonic Team have big plans for the game.

Speaking in an interview with Sonic Stadium earlier this year, Sonic Team's Takashi Iizuka said, "Sonic Adventure laid the foundation for 20 years of Sonic titles after its release, so in the same way, I really hope that this new title releasing in 2022 lays the foundation for the following future Sonic titles — that is the idea behind the challenge for the team."

For more from the world of Sonic and friends, make sure to check out this piece discussing how Idris Elba's says that he won't make Knuckles the Echidna 'sexy' following his confirmation of the role in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie sequel.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Images that purport to show spoilers from the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home have appeared online – if you're trying to avoid details about the upcoming movie, you may want to tread carefully on social media.

Two images – which we won't be reposting or describing – are being shared across social media. While it's unclear whether they're legitimate at time of writing, they appear to show major spoilers from the third Tom Holland solo Spider-Man film.

If you hate spoilers, you'll want to exercise caution online today as new purportedly leaked images from Spider-Man: No Way Home are circulating. Maybe mute "Spider-Man" where possible? pic.twitter.com/bvUUDjBLf9

— IGN (@IGN) November 9, 2021

We've got a little over a month until No Way Home is released, and it's clear from the official trailer and posters that the movie will include some major changes to the MCU, including some unexpected villains. Spoilers for a movie with these ambitions are perhaps even more damaging than other fan-favourite fare.

It may even be our last outing with Tom Holland's Peter Parker, with the actor saying that the movie was being treated as the "end of a franchise", and reports of Marvel battling to keep the rights to the character among others.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Update 11/09 08:58 PT: The King of the Hill "NFT" previously shared by Mike Judge was seemingly the work of another artist, going by the name of @AyePizzaBoy on Twitter. A tweet dated August 25, 2021, shows the same image – which was posted by Judge on November 8, 2021 – of the animated sitcom's familiar foursome in pixel form.

Original story: King of the Hill co-creator Mike Judge has jokingly invited his fans to dig deep into their pockets to buy a set of four NFTs (non-fungible tokens) of his own creation.

Judge shared his digital asset on Twitter as he posted a picture of his own artwork featuring pixel images of King of the Hill's Hank Hill, Dale Gribble, Bill Dauterive, and Jeff Boomhauer. "This NFT will be available soon for six trillion dollars. Each," he joked in the accompanying tweet. "Or you can buy all four for twenty trillion. They're worth every penny."

This NFT will be available soon for six trillion dollars. Each. Or you can buy all four for twenty trillion. They’re worth every penny. pic.twitter.com/AgVPL72OG9

— Mike Judge (@MikeJudge) November 8, 2021

King of the Hill aired for 13 seasons on Fox between 1997 and 2009, making it one of the most successful animated sitcoms to debut in the wake of The Simpsons. The series follows the mundane day-to-day struggles of Hank Hill, his family and the many other eccentric personalities in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas, the heartland of America.

More than a decade later, King of the Hill proves it still has a large and dedicated fanbase, with Judge's tweet racking up 65.5K likes and counting, so we can only imagine the hype if the sharp cartoon comedy was ever to return to the air — as writer Brent Forrester had suggested during an eyebrow-raising Reddit AMA session earlier this year.

Forrester teased the possible revival in March when he revealed that King of the Hill creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels were both in "hot negotiations" to revive the popular Fox series, which would see Hank Hill and his family drawn back to life 15 years after the events of the series finale. However, no further update has been given in the months since then.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Star Trek: Prodigy, the animated Star Trek series featuring Voyager's Captain Janeway, has been renewed for a second season.

Paramount+ announced that Star Trek: Prodigy will return with a ten-episode second season, which will premiere sometime next year.

“More adventures await the motley crew of the U.S.S. Protostar,” the streaming service revealed in an official statement. “Paramount+, the streaming service from ViacomCBS, today announced that its new animated kids series Star Trek: Prodigy has been renewed for a second season.”

Producer Alex Kurtzman had previously revealed to Star Trek fan site Trek Core that Star Trek: Prodigy would be getting two seasons – the same as Star Trek’s other animated series, Lower Decks. This marks the official announcement of that fact.

Following the adventures of the abandoned USS Protostar and its new motley crew, Star Trek: Prodigy sees the return of Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway – this time appearing as an Emergency Training Holographic Advisor – similar to The Doctor (or Emergency Medical Hologram) in Star Trek: Voyager.

Star Trek: Prodigy is billed as a more child-friendly Star Trek animated series and began streaming on Paramount+ on October 28. The renewal announcement comes off the back of a strong debut – with Star Trek: Prodigy obtaining the top-performing premiere for a kids animated show on Paramount+.

Our own review said: “The premiere sets the stage for a credible course for adventure that has the potential to grow into something special.”

A strong premise and impressive voice cast puts Star Trek: Prodigy in a very strong position. And with the return of fan favourite Chakotay as the Captain of his own starship, there’s even something for die-hard Trek fans.

Star Trek: Prodigy will take a mid-season break on November 18, with the remaining five episodes of Season 1 to begin airing on January 6. Season 2 will debut sometime in 2022 with no premiere date set just yet.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.