'Squid Game' 's Lee Jung-jae Is Hoping for a 'Twist' in Possible Season 2: Predictable 'Would Be No Fun'

Lee Jung-jae stars as Seong Gi-Hun on the popular Netflix series

Lee Jung-jae.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae knows that fans of the hit series are clamoring for a second season — and he's got some ideas up his sleeve for what's to come.

Though Netflix has yet to officially greenlight a season 2 of the Korean survival thriller, Lee, 49, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue that he feels more episodes are in the cards, especially considering the show's success and its open-ended season 1 finale.

"A second season has become inevitable in a way," he says. "I remember when we were shooting, I asked [creator Hwang Dong-hyuk] if there'd be a second season, and he said, 'I don't think so. That's going to be very difficult.' But we can't not do one now, because we've received so much love all across the world."

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While Lee says that the show creator has only just started planning what's next — Hwang said in a recent interview that he's currently "in talks" with Netflix for two more seasons — the show's star is hoping for a plot that keeps the audience on its toes.

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"I hope there's some sort of twist that'll be exciting and surprising for me and the viewers," Lee says. "If it was predictable, it would be no fun."

The Seoul native, a longtime major movie star in South Korea, plays Seong Gi-hun, a cash-strapped gambling addict and father recruited to play a mysterious, deadly series of children's games in exchange for a prize worth millions.

Season 1 ended (spoiler alert!) with Gi-hun seemingly ready to return to the arena he previously conquered in the name of revenge — and according to Lee, that's about all that's certain.

(L-R) Lee Jung-jae, Hwang Dong-hyuk, Jung Ho-yeon, Kim Ji-yeon. Alamy Stock Photo

"I have no idea what will happen or the scale of it, but the only thing [Hwang] did tell me was that Seong Gi-hun is going to be in the show again, and he's going to be playing in the arena again," he says.

Following the show's premiere in September, it enjoyed a record-breaking rise in popularity, and was watched by 142 million households around the world.

Lee says he "never expected" the crazy success of Squid Game, though he admits he knew early on that he was a part of something special.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lee Jung-jae.

"On the first day when we were shooting red light, green light, I saw the gigantic Young-hee robot and 456 people in green sweats running for their lives, and I suddenly got the feeling that it was going to be very big," he recalls. "So I went and told [Hwang] and the crew, 'I think this is going to be really popular. You should make a theme park right now, you should make sure that that robot's there, and people could play the six games that are in this show.' "

Lee adds that he and his costars stay connected with a group chat, though they haven't had the chance to see each other in person as much as they'd like due to logistics and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I hope that when all of this is over, we can meet up again and eat, have a meal together, and talk about how life has been for each of us," he says.