Netflix’s recent trend of adapting highly successful animated properties into live-action series continues apace this week, as Variety reports that the streamer is making a live-action adaptation of South Korean fantasy phenomenon Solo Leveling. Originally published as a web novel by author Chugong, the series has since been adapted into a massively successful webtoon on South Korean site KakaoPage, as well as an animated series that swept Crunchyroll’s most recent slate of anime awards.
The core appeal of the series builds on some basic tropes that have become increasingly popular in nerd culture in recent years, as generations raised on fan-fiction have turned their hand to writing stories influenced by ideas that frequently pop up in those works. More specifically, the series runs off a power fantasy tailor-made for a cohort of young readers who came up on a diet of role-playing video games: Weak monster hunter Jin-woo is gifted the unique ability to “level up” by killing monsters, essentially becoming the sole player character in his own personal RPG. His exponential increase in growth, aided by other video game-like mechanics, swiftly make him the most powerful hunter in the world, even as increasingly dire threats push him to level up even more.
The live-action series will be directed by Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo, and has tapped Byeon Woo-seok—who previously starred in Netflix-produced South Korean film 20th Century Girl, as well as TV series Lovely Runner—to play the increasingly omnipotent Jin-woo. The series joins Netflix’s increasingly packed slate of live-action offerings meant to replicate the vibes and plots of well-loved anime series, manga, manhwa, and more, including its Death Note movie, the ill-fated live-action Cowboy Bebop, and the currently running One Piece adaptation. (It also feels like at least a partial attempt to take a swipe at Crunchyroll, which the streamer has been increasingly pushing around as Netflix takes more and more of the streaming anime market in the U.S. from the more niche broadcaster.)
