'KPop Demon Hunters' director teases sequel ideas following Netflix success

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15 hours ago

It involves fleshing out HUNTR/X's backstories.
Attention, HUNTR/X hive: KPop Demon Hunters director Maggie Kang already has material in mind for a potential sequel.
The animated musical centers on K-pop girl group HUNTR/X — comprised of singers Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) — who moonlight as demon hunters, fending off supernatural evils in between selling out stadiums and topping music charts. Danger materializes in the form of rival boy band Saja Boys, made up of demons bent on stealing HUNTR/X's fan base and feasting on their souls.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Kang, who directed the feature with Chris Appelhans, alluded to the possibility of a sequel while discussing the challenges of bringing such an expansive feature to life.
"We were trying to do a non-origin origin story with a concept that's brand new to people," Kang explained. "What is it about these girls that brought them into HUNTR/X and made them demon hunters? What is each of their backstory? How did they get chosen? What is that journey like?"
Ultimately, she said, "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."
Making those decisions was not an easy process. "I think that was one of the hardest things we kept getting asked: 'Please show us this.' 'I think the audience is going to want to know this or that,'" Kang explained. "We just made decisions to be like, 'Nope, that is not essential to this story for this movie, and maybe that can be shown some other time.'"
If a sequel comes to fruition, Kang added, "Then we can reveal more of that backstory."KPop Demon Hunters premiered on June 20 and became a runaway global hit for Netflix. It's now the streamer's most-watched animated film. The soundtrack became the highest-debuting soundtrack of 2025 on the Billboard 200 chart, and HUNTR/X's "Golden" even spent some time on the No. 1 spot on Billboard's global charts. Netflix also recently announced a limited-run sing-along event across theaters in the U.S, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K.
"It is truly surreal," Kang told EW of the success last month. "Our goal has always been to create a K-pop group through the movie, but it was a dream, a long shot. We didn't know if it could work. So to see HUNTR/X and Saja Boys on the Spotify charts... I feel so proud. It tells me we really pulled it off. I'm so thankful to the fans for embracing them."
With reporting by Nick Romano
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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