"Have you seen Space Jam 2?": Squid Game director fires back at LeBron James' criticism

LeBron James,NBA superstar and Los Angeles Lakers player is also familiar with Netflix’s Squid Game show. It has become the streaming platform's most-watched show of all time, with over 111 million viewers worldwide.

In a recent interview, though, the basketball player revealed that he “didn’t like” the ending of the super-hit dystopian survival show, eliciting a scathing response from the movie's director Hwang Dong Hyuk himself.

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Director Hwang Dong Hyuk's fiery comeback at LeBron James' criticism of Squid Game ending

On October 13, a short clip was unearthed where LeBron James has a conversation with teammate Anthony Davis about the Korean show.

While Davis appeared to be a huge fan of Squid Game, LeBron was evidently less than enthusiastic, especially about the ending.

The basketball legend said to Davis:

"Yep, I finished it. Did you finish it? Did you watch it? You done?"

To which, Davis responded with an enthusiastic "Yes". The-28-year old player then went on a passionate tangent about how "seriously involved" he was with the show, having binged all nine episodes in one go.

It was at this moment that LeBron admitted to not being a fan of the ending. He was especially skeptical of protagonist Gi Hun’s ultimate decision.

Davis tried to bring James over to the fan side by explaining exactly why Gi Hun had let go of the flight, choosing instead to combat those responsible for the Squid Game. LeBron James, though, did not buy the explanation, dubious of Gi Hun’s bad parenting. The Lakers player said:

“No, no, I know that they started off on season two, but, like, get on the f**king flight! Go see your daughter, bro! Like, what are you doing?'

Squid Game director Hwang Dong Hyuk, though, has a fiery response of LeBron’s criticism, and it involves a notorious film the basketball player starred in.

Given LeBron James’ status, Hwang Dong Hyuk was asked about the shooting guard’s opinion in an interview with The Guardian. Not one to let it go, the director was ready with a comeback that would definitely have left LeBron burned:

"Have you seen Space Jam 2?"

Space Jam 2, which was released in 2021, was the long-anticipated sequel to the cult classic Space Jam, which starred basketball legend Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes gang.

While the 1996 live-action/animated film was a massive success, and had a huge impact on pop culture, the sequel did not quite meet expectations. Released on July 16, Space Jam 2, which also starred Zendaya, received a lot of ridicule, and a 26% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

While Hwang Dong Hyuk may disagree with LeBron James’ opinion on Squid Game, and his cinematic choices, the director has a lot of respect for the athlete.

'LeBron James is cool and can say what he wants. I respect that. I'm very thankful he watched the whole series.'

The director, though, was confident about his ending, insisting that:

"But I wouldn't change my ending. That's my ending."

In his trademark sarcastic style, Hwang Dong Hyuk offered to let LeBron make his own ending, which would meet his expectations,

"Maybe he could make his own sequel. I'll check it out and maybe send him a message saying, 'I liked your whole show, except the ending.'"

Meanwhile, Squid Game’s meteoric success is only increasing by the day, with parodies and plagiarized adaptations popping up around the world.