K‑Pop Demon Hunters director Maggie Kang has hinted that a sequel to the animated film will delve into the backstories of the three female protagonists.
Released on 20 June on Netflix, K‑Pop Demon Hunters is co-directed by Chris Appelhans and 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.
The action fantasy-musical follows a popular K-pop girl group, HUNTR/X, made up of Rumi (Cho), Mira (Hong) and Zoey (Yoo) who lead a double life as popstars by day and demon hunters by night.
Their powers stem from music that sustains the Honmoon, a mystical barrier shielding humans from soul-stealing demons. The band’s mission, which has been passed down generations, is challenged when a rival boy band led by Jinu (Ahn), the Saja Boys, turn out to be demons intent on collapsing the barrier.
In an interview, Kang explained that the HUNTR/X members’ origin stories had to be left out.
“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.
“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.’”
Kang added: “We can reveal more of that backstory” in a sequel.
In an earlier interview with Variety, she said: “We’ve set up so much for potential backstory. Obviously, there’s a lot of questions that are left unanswered and areas that are not explored, and we had to do that because there’s only so much movie you could tell in 85 minutes.
“This was Rumi’s story, and we have backstories for Zoey and Mira – ones that we actually put in the movie, but it just kind of rejected it. It just wasn’t the movie for those stories.”
Voice actors for the leads have also shown interest in returning for a sequel, which hasn’t been greenlit by Netflix, but seems very likely considering the film holds a 97 per cent critic rating and a 91 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ahn has said he would “love” to see his character return in some way, since it was implied at the end of the film that Jinu sacrificed his soul and therefore himself to help Rumi build the Honmoon.
“I mean, Jinu gave his soul, so like I never really imagined how he would come back,” Ahn told USA Today. “As someone who loves Jinu as a fan, too, of course I would love to see him come back. But it’s not up to me.”
Cho too wants to see Jinu and Rumi reunite, telling Variety: “I would love to see if we can rescue Jinu! It is a magical world, right? I feel like the options are endless, and our incredible writers and directors left it a bit open. Anything is possible.”
A report by The Wrap last month said two sequels are planned to form a trilogy, with a live-action adaptation and stage musical also in development, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Earlier this month, “Golden” performed by HUNTR/X hit number one on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Official Singles Chart.
The song was performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, who provided the singing voices for the HUNTR/X’s members.
Since the film’s release in June, it has become Netflix’s most-watched animated film and currently ranks as the platform’s fourth most-watched film of all time. After its premiere, K‑Pop Demon Hunters topped Netflix’s global movie charts for four consecutive days, steadily expanding its reach, beginning with 17 countries on the first day and climbing to 41 within just four days.
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