Netflix has announced the production of 'Solo Leveling' and confirmed the casting of Byeon Wooseok. Based on the original web novel, 'Solo Leveling' has expanded into webtoon, animation, and games, and it is set to be made into a Netflix series to reach a wider audience.
The Netflix series 'Solo Leveling' tells the story of Sung Jinwoo, an 'E-rank hunter' who is considered the weakest among hunters protecting the real world from monsters beyond the gate, awakening in a life-or-death situation to upgrade to the 'strongest hunter' who will save the world.
Truly, a 'legend' is being serialized. 'Solo Leveling' (D&C MEDIA), which began serialization on KakaoPage, has maintained its position as the top popular web novel and webtoon, recording a global cumulative view count of 14.3 billion views. It has also been produced as an animation, winning nine major awards, including 'Animation of the Year', 'Best Action', and 'Best Character' at the 2025 Crunchyroll Awards, becoming the first Korean animation to achieve this. Starting in Korea and gaining love from people worldwide, 'Solo Leveling' is now meeting global fans as a Netflix series.
The Netflix series 'Solo Leveling', visualized beyond text and images, will bring to life vibrant characters and dynamic action, along with unique quests and overwhelming visual scale of dungeons and monsters, captivating fans around the world with its distinctive sights and original story. In particular, the new world that 'Solo Leveling' will show, featuring various dungeons that do not exist in reality and monsters with diverse personalities and abilities that Sung Jinwoo will meet, is expected to elevate 'Solo Leveling' to a higher level of live-action production, handled by a global VFX team with top-notch technology.
Fans' greatest interest is particularly focused on the protagonist, Sung Jinwoo. Ten years ago, gates began to open, connecting the real world to a different dimension, and if the monsters in the dungeon beyond the gates are not dealt with, a 'dungeon break' could occur, plunging the world into chaos. Among the hunters protecting the real world from monsters, Sung Jinwoo is known for being mocked by other hunters as the weakest 'E-rank hunter'. Awakened in a life-or-death situation, Sung Jinwoo rises as a beacon of hope to save humanity through his overwhelming leveling-up ability.
The attractive protagonist, Sung Jinwoo, is played by trending actor Byeon Wooseok. Byeon Wooseok, who stood at the center of the 'man-tearing syndrome' through the Netflix film '20th Century Girl' and the drama 'Lovely Runner', has solidified his position as a global star, recording sell-out rates for all performances during his Asian fan meeting tour. Notably, this year he secured the No. 1 spot in actor brand reputation for four consecutive months, emerging as a representative popular actor in Korea, and he is expected to showcase Sung Jinwoo's growth narrative and intense action in this project, generating high anticipation.
The direction of the Netflix series 'Solo Leveling' is led by directors Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo. Having showcased unique storytelling, sensational action, and visual beauty through films such as 'Ashfall', 'The Great Battle', 'Kim Ji-young: Born 1982', 'My Dictator', and 'The Watchers', they add trust to 'Solo Leveling'. Furthermore, Kakao Entertainment, which has proven its excellent production know-how in adapting webtoons and web novels, and Sonai Pictures, which has outstanding capabilities in the action noir genre, are in charge of the production, raising even more expectations.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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