Why did Squid Game season 3 use a CGI baby?

Back in January, when quizzed on whether Jun-hee's pregnancy could elicit the sympathy of The Front Man, actor Jo Yu-ri told RadioTimes.com that "you can never rule out any possibilities".

But, following the birth during Squid Game season 3's Hide and Seek challenge, no such special treatment materialises – in fact, most of Jun-hee's fellow players don't even bat an eyelid at the infant who has suddenly appeared before them.

Chances are that viewers will have a bigger reaction, though, given the surprising creative choice made when introducing Jun-hee's baby 222 – here are the likely reasons why the Squid Game season 3 baby is entirely CGI.

Why did Squid Game season 3 use a CGI baby?

Squid Game season 3 most likely chose to use a CGI baby instead of a real baby due to the complicated nature of the production, involving stunts, noise and long hours.

Indeed, Squid Game's baby 222 is not spared from participating in the deadly, elaborate challenges that the older players are put through, meaning that a real baby would have had to be present on the vast sets produced for the Netflix series.

That would have posed a long list of risks and hazards, even with protective measures in place, so the main reason for Squid Game's CGI baby was most likely that it was simply much safer and simpler than a real infant.

That said, other factors may have also been considered, such as the difficulty of filming with a baby due to their unpredictable nature, with the potential for them to cry or make other noises during dramatic moments.

Thirdly, a major series like Squid Game will have involved long days of shooting that wouldn't necessarily align with a real baby's need for plenty of sleep and regular feeding.

Often, multiple similar-looking babies will play the same role in a film or television role to accommodate for the regular breaks necessary to keep the infants safe, happy and healthy.

In addition, babies used in film and television are typically a little older than the newborn role they are "playing", as, naturally, both the child and its parent(s) need time to settle into their new life before setting up any kind of showbiz career!

Squid Game writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk may have wished for Jun-hee's baby to look like a true newborn, rather than an older baby, which could be another reason why he opted for a CGI creation instead of a real infant actor.

One compromise could have been to depict Jun-hee's child as a real baby initially and then swap to a doll or CGI creation for sparing shots during more complex scenes, but this may have appeared inconsistent in the edit.

Suffice to say, depicting babies in film and television is far from easy. Squid Game's CGI baby may not be perfectly convincing, but it's a significant improvement on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn's much-joked-about Renesmee at the very least.

Squid Game seasons 1-3 are available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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