No shock here: Netflix and Sony have reportedly finalized a deal to make a sequel to this year’s biggest animated hit (as much as any streaming movie can be a “hit”), KPop Demon Hunters.
One bit of surprise: It looks like we won’t see it for four full years.
According to Bloomberg, the plan calls for Netflix to debut the movie “in 2029.” In case you’re not familiar with how calendars work, that’s four years away.
READ MORE: A Brutally Honest Ki’s Review of Kpop Demon Hunters
The lengthy break between movies tells you two things. One, it takes a long time to make an animated movie. Two, Netflix and Sony were caught totally unprepared for how big KPop Demon Hunters would become. If anyone suspected the movie would become a pop-culture phenomenon, they would have already started work on this thing months ago. (Likewise, Netflix and Sony recently announced deals with both Hasbro and Mattel to produce KPop Demon Hunters toys and other merchandise … but it won’t start hitting store shelves until 2026, meaning all that money they could have made this Christmas season if there were Huntr/x dolls on the market will be left on the table.)
The film, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, follows a hugely popular K-pop girl group named Huntr/x who moonlight as heroic warriors protecting the world from demons from another dimension. Said demons’ latest attempt to conquer our planet: Creating their own boy band, the Saja Boys, who are secretly demons, and want to steal Huntr/x’s fans.
In addition to streaming on Netflix, the film has already played two different stints in theaters in a sing-along version, grossing an estimated $25 million — even though the film had already been available to watch at home for months.
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Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky
