Fans might be overjoyed to hear news of rapper T.O.P's casting in the Season 2 return of Netflix's highly anticipated Squid Game.
Enthusiastic supporters of the Big Bang member, real name Choi Seung Hyun, may feel spirits dampened upon noticing that the high-profile celeb has been excluded from the show's promotional materials, including the poster and cast list.
T.O.P, however, makes a significant appearance in the season's trailer as a player 230, smack dab in the middle of playing "Red Light Green Light."
The celeb portrays Thanos, a retired rapper who lost all his money in a crypto scam. The character has sparked buzz as the latest season's villain, named after a Marvel character.
While released promotional materials announced the upcoming show's stacked cast, including Im Si Wan of ZE:A, Kang Ha Neul, and Lee Jin Wook, fans have speculated the Big Bang rapper's noticeable absence from promotional materials stems from his controversial past.
Hyun was kicked out of his mandatory military conscription just four months after it began, serving a 10-month prison sentence in 2017 for marijuana use, illegal in South Korea, after the rapper pleaded guilty. The rapper was almost fired from the role before the director realized that the actor was the "most suitable choice."
"I'm truly sorry that I disappointed my fans and the public," T.O.P said to reporters post-sentence, as reported by Yonhap.
"I will do my best to make a fresh start and not to make such a mistake again with what I've learned from this lesson."
Season 2 of Squid Game will follow Gi Hun's return to the dangerous competition to enact revenge and confront the show's mysterious Front Man. The show is set for release on December 26.
