A sequel will be produced for KPop Demon Hunters (hereafter KDH), recorded as the most successful animation in Netflix history.
According to Bloomberg and others on the 12th local time, Netflix entered into a multi-year exclusive animation writing and directing partnership with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the co-directors of KDH, and officially announced the production of a sequel. However, the specific release timing of the sequel was not disclosed, and it is said to still be in the early stages of production.
Maggie Kang, a Korean Canadian director, said, "As a Korean filmmaker, I feel tremendous pride that people want to see more of Korea's stories and characters," adding, "This is only the beginning. There is still so much to show in the world we created."
KDH, which drove a global craze last year, is an animated film set in Korea that tells the story of the three-member girl group Huntrix (members Lumi, Joy, and Mira) protecting the human world from evil spirits. In particular, it depicts their activities as "demon hunters" as they compete with the boy band Lion Boyz (members Jin-woo, Abby, Romance, Baby, and Mystery), born in the world of evil spirits.
Along the way, the film is filled with Korean culture and sensibilities such as bathhouses, traditional medicine clinics, kimbap, and cup ramen. First released in Jun. last year, KDH surpassed 500 million cumulative global views, overtaking the Squid Game series to become the most successful Netflix content ever. The original soundtrack (OST) "Golden" also topped the Billboard Hot 100, the main singles chart.
Meanwhile, KDH has been sweeping various award ceremonies recently. In Jan. this year, it won best animated feature and best original song at the Golden Globes, and at the Critics Choice Awards it was named best animated feature and best original song.
In Feb., it was called as the winner of best song written for visual media at the U.S. Grammy Awards, becoming the first in the K-pop genre to earn a Grammy.
It is also nominated in two categories at the Academy Awards scheduled for the 15th.