KPop Demon Hunters has been such a massive hit that any follow up is going to be hard to get perfectly, and one of the directors behind it all is fully aware of this problem heading into the sequel. KPop Demon Hunters has been streaming with Netflix for only a year at this point, but it has already broken all kinds of records already with the platform. It’s currently making its way to true record breaker status, and that means the new sequel now in the works is unfortunately going to be in the shadow of that success.
KPop Demon Hunters unfortunately faces an uphill battle as the second film is naturally going to be compared to how well the first film did upon its release, and is likely going to be even more scrutinized by fans than the first film was. It’s something director Maggie Kang is keeping in mind as speaking with Deadline, Kang mentioned that she is adamant about keeping the new film “fresh, surprising and original,” as everything that comes from this franchise next “has to be high quality.”
KPop Demon Hunters 2 is now in the works as Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation have come to terms on a new deal together with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans on the follow up. No release date or window has been announced for the sequel as of the time of this writing, but Kang is aware that the franchise’s success has now put more pressure on the follow up than there was for the first film. There are going to be an entire new level of expectations weighed on the sequel as it’s now a full-on brand for animation and K-pop fans.
“We want full control of that, because this is now a franchise and the creative is so important and everything that comes out of this franchise has to be high quality,” Kang explained. “The K-pop fans are very strict and they will notice.” Revealing that the sequel needs to be “fresh, surprising and original,” Kang and Appelhans have quite a lot of work ahead of them to follow up such a notable first outing. It’s probably why this next film is going to take so long to release too.
The pressure is on for KPop Demon Hunters 2, and it’s likely going to take a while to actually debut. The first film had been in active development for seven years before it finally released with Netflix, and that was before there were any major expectations for it. The film skipped out on theaters and unceremoniously dropped on Netflix, but has ended up becoming such a massive hit that it’s now a full franchise that’s going to have more eyes on it than ever before.
Because while the bones might have already been set for its sequel with finalized character designs and more, there are also plenty of other things to consider like its soundtrack. Not only does the next KPop Demon Hunters need to establish a new story that’s compelling as a film, but K-pop fans are going to be expecting some great songs on top of it too. That just takes time to develop, so we could wait years for the next one.
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HT – Deadline
