Squid Game The Challenge contestants shot with black ink for a sensitive reason Thu 9 November 2023 12:52 Celine Byford
Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge contestants are ‘shot’ with black ink rather than red ink. The fictional series saw those eliminated from the game have red ink – signifying blood – aimed at them from the game directors. For the reality show, producers decided to make sensitivity a priority.
With 456 real playersaiming to take one step closer to the huge cash prize, Squid Game: The Challenge was inspired by the original Netflix series where only one person who survived took home the money. The popular series became the inspiration for the reality show, but how contestants would be ‘shot’ was an issue.
How are Squid Game: The Challenge contestants shot?
Squid Game: The Challenge contestants are shot with black ink. They all wear squibs that explode when they are targeted and ‘shot’ at. But the discussion of exactly how to ‘shoot’ was a problem.
“The fact that the prize is so big is the solution of how you adapt a drama that is about being shot when you can’t shoot them,” Stephen Lambert told Radio Times.
The Studio Lambert founder behind the show added: “The prize is life-changing. So, when you are eliminated, the dreams that come from entering just die. The fear of that happening drives how the contestants play the game and interact.”
Black ink was chosen for sensitivity
Stephen spilled on why black ink was chosen to ‘shoot’ contestants. And of course, they don’t get killed! He said in an interview with Radio Times: “It throws up a lot of problems to play it for real.”
The business owner joked: “There was general agreement at the beginning that it wouldn’t be a good idea to kill contestants.” They thought hard about how to depict the “shooting” of the losers.
This comes down to the context of frequent US school shootings as well as global wars including in Ukraine and the Middle East, which was largely considered as a sensitivity issue.
“The decision was made that on the squibs the players wear that explode when they are eliminated, the liquid should not be red, but black… It’s never gory,” Stephen revealed.
Squid Game: The Challenge is not for the faint of heart. The countdown is on & here's a peek at the eps, kicking off November 22
Red Light Green Light
— Netflix (@netflix) November 1, 2023
The Man with the Umbrella
War
Nowhere to Hide
Trick or Treat
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Circle of Trust
One…
The Netflix show is completely real
Real people from across the globe joined the Netflix show.
“We assumed at the beginning that they couldn’t possibly expect us to cast 456 players but they were clear that they did,” Stephen claimed.
He added the streaming giant was also “clear that they wanted a large number of North Americans because, in their terms, the show has to work there, but it had to be a global opportunity in the casting.”
The show was filmed in the United Kingdom, meaning that many contestants had to travel. Their real reactions are captured on camera, but we won’t meet the stars in depth until episode five.
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WATCH SQUID GAME: THE CHALLENGE ON NETFLIX FROM NOVEMBER 22
