KPop Demon Hunters 2 is a go, but its moment may not be until 2029

It takes a long time to make an animated movie, even a sequel to Netflix's most successful release of all time.

By Emma Keates | November 5, 2025 | 4:50pm

Image: Netflix

Film News KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters 2 is a go, but its moment may not be until 2029

Huntrix don’t quit, but they will be lying low for the foreseeable future. Bloomberg reports that Netflix and Sony have finalized their deal for a KPop Demon Hunters sequel following reports that the two parties were in negotiations earlier this summer. The announcement is far from surprising. The animated musical has gone up, up, up since its August release to become the single most popular Netflix title ever (it’s currently sitting at 325 million views and counting), beating out even Squid Game season one for the crown (per IGN). Its stranglehold on the culture doesn’t show signs of abating any time soon. The film has spent 20 straight weeks on Netflix’s top 10 list, usually around the number one or two spot, and songs like “Golden” and “Soda Pop” have taken up similar, semi-permanent residence on the Billboard Hot 100. The film has become such a phenomenon that it’s convinced the notoriously stingy streamer to dole out not one but two separate sing-along theatrical releases, one shortly after its streaming premiere that nabbed Netflix its first-ever box office win with roughly $18 million in two days, and another around Halloween that brought in additional $5 to $6 million.

While it seems inconceivable now, the hype may actually die down in time for people to get excited all over again about the sequel. Bloomberg reports that the studios are looking way ahead to a possible 2029 release date, though that’s provisional and could change. Animated movies simply take a long time to make, especially if you want them to look good, which Netflix, Sony, and directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans certainly do. In a recent interview with BBC, Kang said she couldn’t imagine the movie’s characters in a live-action world because it would feel “too grounded,” adding, “There’s so many elements of the tone and the comedy that are so suited for animation.” Appelhans agreed. “One of the great things about animation is that you make these composites of impossibly great attributes. Rumi can be this goofy comedian and then singing and doing a spinning back-kick a second later and then freefalling through the sky,” he said. “The joy of animation is how far you can push and elevate what’s possible. I remember they adapted a lot of different animes and often times, it just feels a little stilted.” We’ll see if Netflix can catch lightning in a bottle for a second time in a few years; for now, the original KPop Demon Hunters isn’t going anywhere.