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Fans Celebrate ‘Squid Game’ Finale with Seoul Parade

Performers dressed as "Squid Game" soldiers march in a parade through central Seoul, followed by a fan event with cast to celebrate the release of the third season of Netflix's hit series, in Seoul, South Korea, June 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Performers dressed as "Squid Game" soldiers march in a parade through central Seoul, followed by a fan event with cast to celebrate the release of the third season of Netflix's hit series, in Seoul, South Korea, June 28, 2025. (Reuters)
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Fans Celebrate ‘Squid Game’ Finale with Seoul Parade

Performers dressed as "Squid Game" soldiers march in a parade through central Seoul, followed by a fan event with cast to celebrate the release of the third season of Netflix's hit series, in Seoul, South Korea, June 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Performers dressed as "Squid Game" soldiers march in a parade through central Seoul, followed by a fan event with cast to celebrate the release of the third season of Netflix's hit series, in Seoul, South Korea, June 28, 2025. (Reuters)

Thousands of fans gathered in Seoul on Saturday to celebrate the final "Squid Game" season, ending a global Netflix hit that is seen as a symbol of South Korea's cultural clout.

The third and final season was released Friday, concluding the series that sees desperate people compete in deadly versions of traditional children's games for a massive cash prize.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said he had "poured everything" into the series, which launched nearly four years ago.

"So while it's sentimental to see it end," he said, "there's also a sense of relief".

Fans gathered near Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Palace, led by marchers dressed in the bright pink uniforms worn by the show's mysterious masked agents.

They were followed by others carrying oversize toys from one of the games featured in the series, along with the show's flag.

Park Sang-gyu, a fan who stayed up all night watching the final season, said the dystopian drama was "ultimately a story about people".

"As you watch, you realize it's not just about the games -- it reflects many aspects of real life."

The walls of the Seoul Metropolitan Library were lit up with key scenes, including Young-hee -- the giant motion-sensing animatronic doll featured in one of its brutal games.

Lee Byung-hun, who played the masked Front Man overseeing the competition, said the show had become "something of a cultural phenomenon".

"One that has drawn one of the boldest lines in the history of Korean content," he said.

The first two seasons of the series are among Netflix's most-watched shows, and in 2022, Hwang and the show's leading actor, Lee Jung-jae, became the first Asian men to win Emmy Awards.

The final season follows its hero Gi-hun, played by Lee, as he returns to the ultra-violent games to dismantle them from within after surviving the first round.

Along with filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning 2019 thriller "Parasite" and K-pop sensation BTS, "Squid Game" is considered one of the most powerful examples of South Korea's rise as a global cultural force.

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Entertainment

Netflix Intensifies Bid for Warner Bros Making Its $72 Billion Offer All Cash

A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, on Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP)
A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, on Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP)
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Netflix Intensifies Bid for Warner Bros Making Its $72 Billion Offer All Cash

A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, on Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP)
A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, on Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP)

Netflix is now offering to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business in all cash — in an effort to win over the Hollywood giant's shareholders for its $72 billion merger and potentially thwart a hostile bid from Skydance-owned Paramount.

Back in December, Netflix struck a cash and stock deal with Warner valued at $27.75 per share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt. But on Tuesday, the companies announced that they would be revising the transaction to simplify its structure, provide more certainty of value for Warner stockholders and speed up the path to a shareholder vote — which they said could arrive by April.

The all-cash transaction is still valued at $27.75 per Warner share. Warner stockholders will also receive the additional value of shares of Discovery Global, which would become a separate public company following a previously-announced separation from Warner Bros.

Warner leadership has repeatedly backed a merger with Netflix and the boards of both companies approved the all-cash deal announced Tuesday. In a statement, Warner CEO David Zaslav said the revised agreement “brings us even closer to combining two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world.”

A spokesperson for Paramount declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Unlike Netflix, Paramount wants to acquire Warner's entire company — including networks like CNN and Discovery — and went straight to shareholders with all cash, $77.9 billion offer last month.

Warner stockholders have until 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to tender their shares in support of Paramount's bid, which has an enterprise value of $108 billion including debt. But that deadline could be pushed back further. While Paramount declined to share further details on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported last week that the company was planning another extension.

Beyond its tender offer, Paramount has promised a proxy fight. Last week, the company said it would nominate its own slate of directors before the Warner's next shareholder meeting, the date of which has still not been set.

Paramount also filed a suit in Delaware Chancery Court seeking to compel Warner Bros. to disclose to shareholders how it values its bid and the competing offer from Netflix. But a judge on Thursday denied Paramount's request to expedite that proceeding.

In a statement at the time, Warner applauded the court’s decision and called Paramount’s lawsuit “yet another unserious attempt to distract.” Paramount, meanwhile, maintained that the ruling wasn't about the merits of its allegations and said Warner shareholders “should ask why their Board is working so hard to hide this information.”

Regardless of who eventually wins the upper hand, a Warner Bros. Discovery sale could be a long, drawn-out process that is almost certain to attract tremendous antitrust scrutiny. On Tuesday, Netflix and Warner maintained that they expect to close on a merger 12 to 18 months from December's agreement.

Entertainment

New James Bond Actor Revealed ’Soon’, Frontrunners Emerge

Actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge (Getty Images) 
Actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge (Getty Images) 
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New James Bond Actor Revealed ’Soon’, Frontrunners Emerge

Actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge (Getty Images) 
Actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge (Getty Images) 

An industry insider has revealed when the next James Bond film could begin shooting with its all-new 007, according to METRO newspaper.

The search for the next Bond has been on since Daniel Craig’s version of the character was killed off in No Time To Die, rather definitively vacating the role.

Since then, the franchise has been acquired by Amazon MGM Studios, who have begun work on the secret agent’s next era.

This has included hiring Dune director Denis Villeneuve to helm the next instalment of the long-running series.

While we know that Villeneuve will direct a script by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Amazon has yet to pick its next leading actor – although they have reportedly narrowed their search down to eight names.

Sharing his thoughts on when our new Bond could be revealed, senior Deadline film reporter Justin Kroll has hinted that the announcement everyone’s waiting for may be imminent.

Appearing on the My Mom’s Basement podcast, Kroll shared his prediction for when Villeneuve’s Bond might begin rolling.

“I am predicting summer, if I had to be a betting man,” Kroll said. “Because I think production will likely start [at the] end of this year/top of next.”

He continued: “Obviously, it could be a little sooner, but from everything people have said since I’ve been back, Bond is more likely middle of the year than first quarter.”

If true, this means that Bond fans could finally get some major news any day now.

This comes as producers have reportedly narrowed their search to include some of the hottest names in Hollywood right now.

Dua Lipa’s husband-to-be and Eternity actor Callum Turner is believed to be leading the charge – according to the star himself, if a source for the Daily Mail is to be believed.

Turner is confident that his license to kill is already in the post, with an insider sharing how he’d been ‘blabbing’ the news all over town.

“Callum is the new Bond; it’s been confirmed,” they said. “Everyone in his circle is talking about it. It’s the worst-kept secret going.”

They finished: “Dua is over the moon for Callum. She’s been saying she’d love to record the Bond theme.”

Entertainment

'Avatar: Fire and Ash' at Number One in N. America for 5th Straight Week

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Neytiri, performed by Zoe Saldaña, left, and Jake Sully, performed by Sam Worthington, in a scene from "Avatar: Fire and Ash." (20th Century Studios via AP)
This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Neytiri, performed by Zoe Saldaña, left, and Jake Sully, performed by Sam Worthington, in a scene from "Avatar: Fire and Ash." (20th Century Studios via AP)
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'Avatar: Fire and Ash' at Number One in N. America for 5th Straight Week

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Neytiri, performed by Zoe Saldaña, left, and Jake Sully, performed by Sam Worthington, in a scene from "Avatar: Fire and Ash." (20th Century Studios via AP)
This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Neytiri, performed by Zoe Saldaña, left, and Jake Sully, performed by Sam Worthington, in a scene from "Avatar: Fire and Ash." (20th Century Studios via AP)

"Avatar: Fire and Ash" showed no signs of slowing down, topping the North American box office for the fifth consecutive week over the long holiday weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The third installment in director James Cameron's blockbuster fantasy series took in another $17.2 million from Friday to Monday, when Americans mark Martin Luther King Jr Day.

That put its US and Canadian haul at $367.4 million, and its worldwide total at more than $1.3 billion, according to Exhibitor Relations.

"Fire and Ash" stars Zoe Saldana as Na'vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington as ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family's life on the planet Pandora.

It is the fourth Cameron film to pass the $1 billion mark, along with the first two "Avatar" films and "Titanic."

Debuting in second place with a disappointing $15 million was "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple," the fourth installment in the zombie horror series, which comes less than a year after the last film.

"Returning after 7 months is quick -- it's too quick, and it's hurting the numbers," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

Disney's feel-good animated film "Zootopia 2" showed its staying power, moving up to third place at $12 million over the four-day weekend.

In fourth place at $10.2 million was "The Housemaid," an adaptation of Freida McFadden's best-selling novel about a young woman who is hired by a wealthy couple with dark secrets. Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried star in the Lionsgate release.

"Marty Supreme," starring Oscars frontrunner Timothee Chalamet as a conniving 1950s table tennis player with big dreams, finished in fifth place at $6.7 million.