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Squid Game‘s popular storyline inpsired Youtuber MrBeast to recreate his version in real life. MrBeast’s new video has 456 players participating in the same type of childhood games seen in the K-drama. The video had a mixed response from audiences who either enjoyed the fun atmosphere or hated MrBeast copying the director’s work. But Squid Game director Hwang Dong-hyuk recently gave MrBeast’s rendition a stamp of approval.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk of 'Squid Game' K-drama wearing a suit jacket in relation to MrBeast video.
Hwang Dong-hyuk attends the ‘Squid Game’ Guild Screening at NeueHouse | Vivien Killilea via Getty Images

MrBeast spent millions to build ‘Squid Game’ set design and give a generous prize

Fans of the K-drama were surprised to learn that MrBeast would recreate the set and give away a prize to each player. The Youtuber spent roughly US$3.5 million total on the project, according to The South China Morning Post. To recreate the marble game set, the “Red Light, Green Light” playground, and more took roughly a month to achieve. MrBeast made a few tweaks from Squid Game’s original storyline to make a safe and fun environment.

In the K-drama, every player that loses a round of the Games is killed. Their death leads to a surge in the prize money. MrBeast instead rigged fake props to stick to the same theme. But every eliminated player was rewarded US$2 thousand. The runner-up also got a whopping US$10,000.

The Youtuber changed specific details of the childhood games to add a level of surprise for players who already watched Squid Game. Instead of the squid game, the K-drama is named after for the final round, MrBeast replaced it with the popular American game, musical chairs.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk approves of the Youtuber’s video

At the 2021 Gotham Awards, Squid Game won its first American award. The K-drama took home the win as a Breakthrough Series – Long Format. In a post-interview with Hwang with ET Canada, he revealed his opinion on MrBeast’s viral Squid Game video.

“I watched some of it. I loved it. It helped promote the show, so I want more people to do it,” said Hwang. Squid Game is already a global phenomenon that no longer needs an introduction. It is the first K-drama to hold a number one spot on Netflix’s Top 10 since its premiere in October. Squid Game also shocked Netflix and its CEOs by garnering over $900 million in impact value.

The K-drama’s global fame is also likely what led to MrBeast’s video becoming an online sensation. According to Mashable, within four days of the video’s releases, it already had over 100 million views on Youtube and climbing. Squid Game Season 2 has been confirmed in the works by the director. Hopefully, fans will see if MrBeast once again recreates the storyline and set in real life.

How accurately did MrBeast recreate the ‘Squid Game’ set?

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The set for Squid Game was a big project for Hwang and the creative director to tackle. In a behind-the-scenes interview, Hwang and the creative director explained their reasoning behind the sets. The stacked bed frames are meant to portray the social ladder people climb. The players sleeping on the beds also felt like stacked objects in a store for display.

MrBeast had to portray it as well as possible in his video. According to Insider, the Youtuber stayed true to mimicking the same Squid Game set and feel. MrBeast recreated the same structure of the stacked bedframes in the drama.

For the Dalgona challenge, MrBeast followed the same guideline Hwang used for the set. “When we were young, the playground seemed very big. So we built a giant playground for adults,” said Hwang. For the remaining levels of the Games, MrBeast recreated the sets accurately but added the needed safety precautions.

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