KPop Demon Hunters Sequel in the Works, Netflix Eyeing 2029
A sequel to KPop Demon Hunters is officially in development at Netflix, with original directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans returning. The first film, which premiered on Netflix on June 20, 2025, has racked up more than 325 million views, making it the platform's most-watched original ever, and its soundtrack became the first film soundtrack in history to place four songs simultaneously in the Billboard Hot 100 top ten.
Release timeline: 2029 target, but the studio isn't so sure
No release date has been confirmed. Variety reported in November 2025 that Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation (SPA) are aiming for 2029, but SPA president Kristine Belson later told The Hollywood Reporter that timeline may be overly optimistic. Animated feature production cycles are notoriously long, so schedule shifts are common at this stage.
Speaking at a press conference in Seoul in April 2026, Kang said the team is "holding onto some big ideas" that can't be shared yet, but promised the sequel would be bigger in scope than the first film, with more happening in the story. "Just like the first one, we're making the movie we want to see," she said.
Returning cast and vocals
As of this reporting, no official casting has been announced, but the creative team is said to be working to bring back the original voice cast, which included:
- Arden Cho — Rumi
- May Hong — Mira
- Ji-young Yoo — Zoey
- Ahn Hyo-seop — Jinu
- Yunjin Kim — Celine
- Joel Kim Booster — Romance
- Daniel Dae Kim — Healer Han
- Ken Jeong — Bobby
- Lee Byung-hun — Gwi-Ma
On the music side, singer-songwriter EJAE, who co-wrote HUNTR/X's Oscar-winning "Golden" for Best Original Song, is widely expected to return as Rumi's singing voice. "Golden" has now amassed 1.895 billion Spotify streams, and the HUNTR/X vocal team also performed the song live at the Oscars ceremony.
Musical direction: heavy metal meets trot
Kang told The Korea Times her vision for the sequel's music hasn't changed: she wants to introduce trot, Korea's distinctive style of enka-influenced pop, to a wider global audience, and to bring in heavy metal where the story allows it — a genre she sees as one of K-pop's underlying foundations. The name "trot" derives from the American dance style foxtrot, and the genre shares its characteristic two-beat rhythm.