More demons, more K-pop: Netflix announces KPop Demon Hunters sequel
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Figurines from the KPop Demon Hunters toy series are on display at Mattel's booth at the New York Toy Fair in New York City on Feb 17, 2026.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES – Netflix confirmed on March 12 that a sequel to KPop Demon Hunters (2025), the streaming platform’s most-watched film of all time, is officially in development.
The new instalment will extend Netflix’s creative collaboration with co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, and marks the first project under their new exclusive multi-year writing and directing deal for animation.
“I feel immense pride as a Korean film-maker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters,” Kang said in the announcement. “There’s so much more to this world we have built and I’m excited to show you. This is only the beginning.”
Made by Sony Pictures Animation, the original musical film follows the fictional K-pop girl trio Huntrix – made up of Rumi, Mira and Zoey – as they balance their superstardom with secret lives as demon hunters. Lead vocalists Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami propelled the movie’s breakout anthem Golden to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The film became a critical and awards-season powerhouse, earning Best Animated Feature and Best Song at the 31st Critics Choice Awards, as well as Best Animated Motion Picture and Best Original Song at the 83rd Golden Globes in January. It has two Oscar nominations – for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.
Golden also secured a Grammy in February for Best Song Written for Visual Media – the first Grammy awarded to a K-pop song.
In January, Netflix announced that the movie had shattered platform records, drawing 482 million views over a six-month period, along with 32 million views for its lyric videos. Its soundtrack continues to trend globally.
Appelhans, speaking to Reuters in January, stressed that a sequel would need a clear creative direction from the beginning.
“You have to know where you’re headed because, otherwise, you will be lost immediately,” he said.
“So, we’ll just have to do that again and make something that we love and that means something to us. And then I think if you do that well, it works and other people connect to it.” REUTERS
