Netflix has finally confirmed that a sequel to the animated musical fantasy KPop Demon Hunters is in development.
The follow-up will be directed by the film’s original creative team, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, and produced by Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation.
“I feel immense pride as a Korean film-maker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters,” Kang said in a statement. “There’s so much more to this world we have built and I’m excited to show you. This is only the beginning.”
Netflix announced the film as part of a broader deal with Kang and Appelhans, who have signed an exclusive multiyear agreement with the streamer to write and direct animated projects.
“These characters are like family to us, their world has become our second home. We’re excited to write their next chapter, challenge them, and watch them evolve, and continue pushing the boundaries of how music, animation, and story can come together,” said Appelhans.
KPop Demon Hunters, which premiered on Netflix in June 2025, is an action fantasy-musical that follows a popular K-pop girl group, HUNTR/X, who lead a double life battling a rival boy band, the Saja Boys, who turn out to be demons.
KPop Demon Hunters features a voice cast led by Teen Wolf’s Arden Cho and popular K-drama star Ahn Hyo Seop, along with May Hong and Yoo Ji Young.
The supporting voice cast includes Kim Yun Jin, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong, and Squid Game’s Lee Byung Hun.
Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami provide the singing voices for the HUNTR/X’s members in the film, and all three are scheduled to perform the chart-topping single at this year’s Academy Awards.
Talk of a sequel began shortly after the film’s release as it topped Netflix’s global movie charts for four consecutive days, beginning with 17 countries on the first day and climbing to 41 within just four days. In November last year, a Bloomberg report said Netflix had finalised a deal for a second film.
However, due to the lengthy production time for animated features, it is not expected to be on the streaming service till 2029.
KPop Demon Hunters songwriter Mark Sonnenblick, who co-wrote the film’s breakout song “Golden”, said in February that a sequel was “in process”. Golden” picked up honours at both the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Awards, became the first-ever K-pop song to win at the Grammys earlier this year, and is also nominated at the forthcoming Oscars for best original song.
No plot details have been revealed, but it is expected the sequel will continue to follow HUNTR/X, and potentially dig deeper into the women’s lives.
Last year, Kang hinted that the sequel will delve into the backstories of the three female protagonists. In an interview, the co-director explained that the HUNTR/X members’ origin stories had to be left out of the first film.
“We were trying to do a non-origin origin story with a concept that’s brand new to people,” Kang told Entertainment Weekly.
“What is it about these girls that brought them into HUNTR/X and made them demon hunters? What is each of their back story? How did they get chosen? What is that journey like?”
“There was really not a space for the movie to show all that. So we really had to make these choices of what is essential to the story, and that is the information that we will show,” he added.
© Independent Digital News & Media Ltd