Squid Game, the popular South Korean Netflix TV series, is currently on track to be the streaming service’s most-watched show, and it turns out that Taika Waititi, like most of the world, is a huge fan of the tense survival story. Recently taking to social media, the director shared his opinion as a fan of the show, suggesting that the best way to watch Squid Game is by watching it in its original language – not in the English dub.
Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game is a tense drama centred around a group of people with huge debts who compete in deadly children’s games in hopes of winning a massive cash prize. Netflix offers both English subtitles and an English dub for its viewers to choose from, leading to some discussion among fans on what is the best way to watch Squid Game in general.
Taika Waititi took to Twitter and shared his stance on the streamer’s translation options, writing: “You don’t have to watch Squid Game dubbed in English.” The tweet started a thread of his followers debating if the English dub takes away from the Korean cast’s on-screen performances.
Fans were quick to point out that the English-speaking voice actors for the dub are talented stars, including Paul Nakauchi (Overwatch), Tom Choi (Mortal Kombat) and even Greg Chun (Star Wars: Vision). However, the director went on to defend his position on watching the TV series with the original audio.
You don’t have to watch Squid Game dubbed in English.
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) October 3, 2021
“I just PERSONALLY love the sound of Korean films,” Waititi explained. “And was surprised when Netflix presented it in English as the first option.”
This is a very fair point. You absolutely can! I just PERSONALLY love the sound of Korean films and was surprised when Netflix presented it in English as the first option.
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) October 4, 2021
There will always be an element of a story that gets lost in translation, be that in subtitles or through a dub. Like Waititi suggests in his later response to the debate, it can come down to personal preference. Looking at the monumental success of Squid Game, it seems that the translations were successful enough to grip viewers and hopefully opened the door for more international programming on the streaming platform.
Currently, we don’t know much about Squid Game season 2. However, Hwang Dong-hyuk has hinted that more police involvement will be explored in the next chapter.
Besides catching up on his TV viewing, Waititi has been keeping busy. The director is set to helm a TV series for Netflix based on Roald Dahl’s novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and has wrapped filming on the MCU movie Thor: Love and Thunder.