KPop Demon Hunters to return as Netflix announces sequel

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Osmond Chia,in Singapore,and

Nardine Saad,in Los Angeles

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Netflix

Netflix has announced a sequel to KPop Demon Hunters, the streaming platform’s most watched movie of all time.

No release date has been set yet. The sequel marks the first project under co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans’ new and exclusive multi-year deal with Netflix.

The announcement comes as critics predict that the first film will win at the Oscars on Sunday, where it is has two nominations for best animated feature and best original song.

Golden has already won a Grammy for best song written for visual media - the first time a K-pop song has won at the prestigious music awards.

The original film follows main characters Rumi, Mira and Zoey from the K-pop group Huntr/x as they grapple with fame and their secret lives as demon hunters.

Kang said in the announcement first made by Netflix on social media: "I feel immense pride as a Korean filmmaker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters.

“There’s so much more to this world we have built and I’m excited to show you. This is only the beginning.”

Singer Ejae, who performs Rumi’s singing voice and co-wrote the film’s breakout hit Golden and other songs, told the BBC last month that she hoped to incorporate some new styles in the sequel.

“It depends on what they create and hopefully, you know, we can show more sides of Korea,” Ejae said. “There’s so many different kinds of music in Korea, so that’s what I’m hoping for personally.”

Ejae said the reception of the animation and its music felt unreal.

“A lot is happening so I’m trying to digest everything but it’s really hard to digest,” she said. “It’s crazy.”

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Kim Eun-jae, known professionally as Ejae

Zhun, a South Korean music producer for the track Golden, told the BBC that he, too, was hoping to build on the success of the first film.

“I want to continue the high energy that we brought to the first film,” he said through a translator.

He added that he hoped to build on combining the music with the “visual elements in the film [that] gave us so much energy”.

Netflix did not provide any further details about the sequel. The original film took seven years to make, from its initial pitch to release.

In October, Kang had told the BBC that “there’s definitely more we can do with these characters in this world”, adding: “Whatever it will be, it will be a story that deserves to be a sequel, and it will be something that we want to see.”

In February, KPop Demon Hunters songwriter Mark Sonnenblick said a sequel was “in process”.

“There’s going to be a whole development process before we get deep into writing the songs,” he said. “The music will follow from the story and that’s if it makes sense for us all to be doing it again.”

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The film has become a cultural phenomenon since its release last summer - a rare K-pop-related production to break into mainstream Western markets like the US.

While primarily in English, the American production incorporates Asian iconography, food and some Korean language to showcase its South Korean roots.

KPop Demon Hunters has become a critical and awards powerhouse, winning best animated motion picture and best original song at the Golden Globes.

It is in the running for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, against films such as Disney’s Zootopia 2 and Elio.

In January, Netflix said KPop Demon Hunters had broken the platform’s record, with more than 480 million views over half a year.

Golden, the animation’s most popular track, went up to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

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