Netflix's Biggest Surprise Hit Of 2025 Is Officially Getting A Sequel
They’re going up, up up!
KPop Demon Hunters was a perfect storm of a cultural phenomenon. It combined an existing trend (K-Pop) with a fantasy plot and some absolutely earworms of songs. After an unceremonious drop on Netflix, the movie instantly gained a cult following, prompting sing-along theater showings, chart-topping singles, and rushed Halloween costumes.
Soon after, the question became what could be next for HUNTR/X? A sequel seemed like a foregone conclusion, but Hollywood moves slowly. Thankfully, only about nine months after the movie was added to Netflix, we know the future of KPop Demon Hunters.
KPop Demon Hunters expertly combined K-pop styles with a fantasy story inspired by folklore.
Netflix announced that a sequel to KPop Demon Hunters is officially on the way, with original directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans returning. This project is only the first project in a multiyear deal with the duo, so there are likely to be multiple animated movies coming to the streamer from them.
The timing is auspicious: KPop Demon Hunters is nominated for two awards at the Oscars, and is one of only two nominees for Best Original Song to perform during the ceremony: Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami will perform “Golden,” the first K-pop song to win a Grammy award.
However, don’t expect a repeat performance so soon. The first reports of KPop Demon Hunters 2 stated that the project is aiming for a 2029 release. Writing hit songs and animating lush fantasy sequences takes time, but if the first movie is any evidence, then the wait will be worth it.
HUNTR/X’s singing voice actors have found success performing songs from the movie, including at the upcoming Academy Awards.
If Netflix follows through on its initial plans, then this could just be the start. Early rumors surrounding the movie claim that Netflix is exploring all avenues to keep the craze alive, including a TV spinoff and even a Broadway musical adaptation, much like current Stranger Things Broadway show, Stranger Things: The First Shadow. There were even rumblings of a live-action remake, but Netflix clarified that it wasn’t a possibility.
If we’re going to see Rumi, Mira, and Zoey again, then it should be in a project that represents the grand scale of their popularity both in-universe and out. Fans are clamoring for more, and Netflix wants to deliver that, but a rushed, lackluster follow-up could squander any goodwill accumulated so far.
2029 may seem like a long ways away, but it’s pretty standard for animated musicals like this. The closest analogue in recent history is Frozen, and it took six years for Frozen 2 to reach theaters. If anything, Netflix is putting this movie on the fast track.
