Spoiler alert! Here’s the huge Australian A-lister that appears in the Squid Game finale

SPOILERS: The final scene in Squid Game season three on Netflix features a major Australian star and it means something huge for the franchise.

****Spoilers for the new season of Squid Game follow****

The season finale of Squid Game season 3 features the cameo of a huge Australian Hollywood star.

The one and only Cate Blanchett makes a surprise appearance in the final scene of the hit Korean thriller as a recruiter for the deadly competition.

Picking up in the wake of a failed revolution, the final season of the Asian version of the hugely popular show follows the struggle between Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who’s determined to take down the games once and for all, and Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), who desperately wants to break Gi-hun’s faith in humanity.

Korean veteran actor Lee Jung-jae returns as Gi-hun in the final season.

In the final scene of the show, Front Man finds himself in a car in Downtown Los Angeles, and while stopped at a light, he hears some familiar sounds: the thwap of two ddakji tiles hitting the ground followed by the sharp crack of a slap across the face. Front Man rolls down his window and sees a suited Blanchett playing ddakji with a seemingly desperate man in an alleyway. Blanchett looks up and exchanges a knowing glance with Front Man, who pulls away as Blanchett’s attention returns to her new recruit.

“We thought having a woman as a recruiter would be more dramatic and intriguing,” said Squid Game Director Hwang Dong-hyuk.

“And as for why Cate Blanchett, she’s just the best, with unmatched charisma. Who doesn’t love her? So we were very happy to have her appear. We needed someone who could dominate the screen with just one or two words, which is exactly what she did,” he continued.

Cate Blanchett makes an appearance in the finale. Picture: Netflix.

The final scene of the series sets up the spin-off. Picture: Netflix.

“If Gong Yoo is the Korean Recruiter, I thought she would be the perfect fit as the American Recruiter, bringing a short but gripping and impactful ending to the story.”

He went on to reveal that Blanchett had very limited time to film the cameo, so much so that she shot the entire thing in one take.

“During the shoot, she reminded me of what true talent looks like. Even with just a few looks and lines, her performance was mesmerising,” he shared. “She was amazing at playing ddakji. I believe she successfully flipped the ddakji with her first try, and we were able to get that one long take right away.”

But what exactly does Blanchett’s cameo mean for the future of the show? Quite a bit, it turns out, considering where Netflix plans on taking the franchise next.

Season 3 is the last for the Asian version of Squid Game, but it’s far from over. An English-language spin-off is being developed by director David Finch, who has previously worked with Blanchett on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Blanchett’s appearance raises numerous questions, however, like have the Games always had international counterparts or have they been forced to move them after they were nearly discovered by authorities at the end of the final season?

Squid Game season 3 is available to stream now on Netflix.

Originally published as Spoiler alert! Here’s the huge Australian A-lister that appears in the Squid Game finale