Squid Game’s Hwang Dong-hyuk Picks Which Marvel Character Would Win the Deadly Competition (Exclusive)

Hwang Dong-hyuk would bet on Tony Stark in a Squid Game competition.

At Netflix’s season 2 premiere event in Los Angeles on Thursday, Dec. 12, the hit show’s director revealed exclusively to PEOPLE which famous figure would do well in the deadly competition.

“Iron Man — without the suit,” Hwang says, referring to Tony Stark, the central hero played by Robert Downey Jr. in Marvel’s Infinity Saga.

Hwang believes Stark, who is considered one of the smartest characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, would stand the best chance at winning Squid Game — even without his technologically-advanced body armor.

Squid Game‘s first season followed Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, as he sought to win the high-stakes competition filled with deadly versions of children’s games. Out of 456 contestants that started in the competition, Seong was one of two people who left aliv

Season 1’s games included tug of war, marbles, hopscotch, honeycomb carving and red light, green light.

Hwang says season 2 will feature some different games.

“There were some [games] left over from the list of games that I had thought of for season 1,” he says. “So at least for season 2, it wasn’t as hard to come up with the new games.”

Hwang admits he would excel most at the honeycomb challenge. When he was a kid, re recalls he used Seong’s lifesaving trick seen in season 1 — licking the honeycomb to weaken the shape’s outline for easier removal.

Squid Game, first recorded in Korean and later translated into 31 languages, became a worldwide hit after its September 2021 release. Squid Game won six Emmys, including for lead actor, directing, production design, guest actress, special visual effects and stunt performance.

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Even though season 2 doesn’t debut for another two weeks, it earned a Golden Globe nomination in the best drama series category.

“They gave us a nomination even before it come out,” Hwang says. “So it was a big surprise and big compliment. I’m so happy. I cannot be happier.”

Squid Game season 2 premieres on Netflix on Dec. 26.