Netflix officially orders the sequel to the hit film
Netflix officially confirmed a sequel to KPop Demon Hunters on March 12, 2026. The original movie premiered in June 2025 and quickly became a major success for the platform, with its soundtrack reaching high popularity levels, too. The film became the streamer’s most-watched original animated film of all time, and its main single, “Golden,” became one of the biggest hits of 2025. It also received two Oscar nominations and 5 Grammy nominations with one win, which helped strengthen interest in the franchise. Meanwhile, Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans are returning to write and direct the sequel. Reports also suggest the new film is part of a multi-year animation agreement with Netflix, showing that the company sees long-term value in keeping KPop Demon Hunters.
The sequel may expand the story behind Zoey and Mira
The first installment followed Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, members of the KPop trio HUNTR/X, who secretly fight demons while also performing as KPop stars. Their main enemies were the Saja Boys, a rival boy band made up of handsome demons in disguise. However, the second installment might shift the story in some way.
“We’ve set up so much for potential backstory. Obviously, there’s a lot of questions that are left unanswered and areas that are not explored, and we had to do that because there’s only so much movie you could tell in 85 minutes,” Kang told Variety. “This was Rumi’s story, and we have backstories for Zoey and Mira – ones that we actually put in the movie, but it just kind of rejected it. It just wasn’t the movie for those stories.”
More films may follow if the franchise keeps growing
As of March, 2026, Netflix has only confirmed one sequel, but comments from the creative team suggest this may not be the end. On July 31, 2025, The Wrap reported that Netflix was considering a larger expansion of the KPop Demon Hunters franchise, including a possible trilogy and other related projects like a stage musical. However, the company does not seem to be interested in a live-action remake at the time.
As for a potential release date for the second installment, animation usually takes several years to complete because of the work involved in each frame. According to Variety, Netflix is currently aiming for a 2029 premiere for the KPop Demon Hunters sequel, although that timing could still change as production develops, and a different date could always be announced.