Despite initial hesitation from Sony, the film’s extraordinary potential should have been apparent from the outset. K-pop, a genre that has been steadily gaining momentum in the United States, coupled with a vibrant fantasy world and strong female characters, presented a winning formula. The film’s animation style, reminiscent of Sony’s acclaimed “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” further contributed to its wide-reaching appeal, particularly among children, young women, and the often-overlooked tween and teen girl demographic.

With the film generating Oscar buzz and its soundtrack receiving critical acclaim, Netflix is already laying the groundwork for a sequel. Although there are several details yet to be ironed out, the possibility of expanding “KPop Demon Hunters” into a full-fledged franchise is an exciting prospect. Here’s a glimpse of what we know so far about the sequel’s development.

Originally brought to life by Sony Animation Studios, “KPop Demon Hunters” emerged as an original IP under the direction of Maggie Kang, a relatively unfamiliar name at the time. Sony’s initial skepticism led to the sale of the film to Netflix in 2021, effectively branding it as a Netflix Original. This transaction saw Netflix shouldering the film’s production costs, along with a $25 million profit payout to Sony. While Sony still benefits from music-related sales and publishing fees, Netflix retains exclusive rights to merchandise associated with the film.

As indicated by its opening credits, “KPop Demon Hunters” was created by Sony Animation Studios. However, as an original IP with a lesser-known director in Maggie Kang at the helm, Sony was leery of the film’s success. As a result, the film was sold to Netflix in 2021, making it a Netflix Original in the process. The sale entailed Netflix covering the film’s budget, while paying Sony an additional $25 million as profit on the deal. Sony receives a cut of sales and publishing fees from the music, but Netflix has exclusive merchandising rights.

Given that Netflix cancels shows as quickly as they release them, they likely didn’t foresee the film becoming an overnight hit. It was likely just another middling animated feature to them. Fast forward to post June 2025, and the streamer now finds itself in the awkward position of relying on Sony to produce the second film. On the other side of the coin, Sony is re-negotiating a deal with Netflix that gets them a bigger piece of the pie. The talks are supposedly going well thus far, but no concrete deal has been reached yet. While co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans are on board for the sequel, their deals can’t be finalized until Netflix and Sony reach an agreement.

The protagonist of “KPop Demon Hunters” was undoubtedly Huntr/x’s lead singer Rumi (Arden Cho), as the film centers on her struggle to overcome her shame as a half-demon. While this singular thematic through-line worked well for the film, it did leave the other two Huntr/x members, Mira (May Hong) and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) feeling underdeveloped. Outside of brief character summaries delivered through standard dialogue and brief flashbacks, we don’t learn much more about Zoey or Mira’s pasts. Near the climax of the movie, Rumi yells at Mira, “Not everything is about your insecurities, Mira!” –- yet those suggested insecurities weren’t substantively shown onscreen. Meanwhile, Zoey is said to be from Burbank, CA, but we know nothing of her journey to South Korea to make it as an idol.

Director Maggie Kang is aware of these shortcomings, and hopes to address them in the sequel. Speaking to Variety, she shared, “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.” Perhaps the next movie (or two) could focus on another member of the group and create a story around them similarly as the first did with Rumi. Zoey and Mira fit basic archetypes that can connect to various personalities; fleshing them out fully would only fortify the Huntr/x brand for audiences — and Netflix.

As unique as “Demon Hunters” is in the film landscape, it still contained the classic enemies-to-lovers trope with Rumi and lead Saja Boy (and demon), Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop). The plot was as much his as it was Rumi’s, with Jinu literally sacrificing his soul to save Rumi in the end. That kind of redemption and selflessness leaves viewers wanting more — and it also doesn’t hurt that he’s is an animated hunk.

The speaking voice of Rumi, Arden Cho, has expressed hopes for Jinu to return in the sequel. “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,” she told Variety. Indeed, Jinu’s pet was seen watching over Huntr/x right before the credits rolled, possibly indicating that some part of Jinu’s soul lived on. 

Even still, it would admittedly take a bit of creativity to retcon his death. The best bet would be to further develop the supernatural lore of the film, possibly with the creation of a new Honmoon after the climactic final musical number. Maybe Jinu could reapper via this new Honmoon. Since romance was an endearing part of the first movie, it would benefit the script to bring this element back in some way, even if it means introducing a new love interest.