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KPop Demon Hunters

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KPop Demon Hunters
Release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
  • Danya Jimenez[1]
  • Hannah McMechan[1]
  • Maggie Kang[1]
  • Chris Appelhans[1]
Story byMaggie Kang[1]
Produced byMichelle Wong
Starring
Edited byNathan Schauf[2]
Music byMarcelo Zarvos[1]
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix[1]
Release date
  • June 20, 2025 (2025-06-20)
Running time
95 minutes
CountriesUnited States
South Korea
LanguageEnglish

KPop Demon Hunters is an upcoming American animated musical action comedy film directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, from a screenplay by Kang, Appelhans, and Hannah McMechan and Danya Jimenez, based on a story conceived by Kang. The film stars Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong, and Byung-hun Lee.

The film will be released on June 20, 2025, on Netflix.

Premise

The film follows the three members of the K-pop group Huntrix – Rumi, Mira, and Zoey – who lead double lives as secret demon hunters dedicated to protecting their fans from supernatural forces. Huntrix faces off against a rival boy band known as the Saja Boys whose members are secretly demons.

Voice cast

Production

Development

In March 2021, a film with the working title K-Pop: Demon Hunters was announced to be underway at Sony Pictures Animation. Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans would direct with writing duo Hannah McMechan and Danya Jimenez writing the script and Aron Warner and Michelle L.M. Wong serving as producers.[3][4] Mingjue Helen Chen and Ami Thompson were also announced as production designer and art director, respectively.[3] By April 2025, Warner had dropped out of the film, and the film's title was KPop Demon Hunters.[5][better source needed]

It was conceived by Kang who wanted to make a film "set in Korean culture"; she "delved into mythology and demonology for something that could be visually unique" compared to "mainstream media".[6] She also called the film her "love letter to K-Pop" and her "Korean roots".[3] On character design, Kang highlighted wanting to differentiate from "Marvel female superheroes that were just sexy and cool and badass" and instead have "girls who had potbellies and burped and were crass and silly and fun" leading to the creation of "something that encompassed all of those elements".[7] She was also influenced by "how Bong Joon Ho juggles so many different tones in his films to where they feel very animated".[6] Appelhans came on board later on after Kang told him her initial ideas for the film; he planned to take a long break after having directed Wish Dragon (2021).[6] He stated that he "always wanted to do a film about the power of music – to unite, bring joy, build community."[3]

Casting

Ji-young Yoo was revealed to star in the film in April 2025.[8] The rest of the cast was announced later that month.[1]

Animation

The film was animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks with Josh Beveridge as the head of character animation.[6] Appelhans highlighted inspiration was drawn from "music videos, editorial photography, K-dramas, concert lighting, a touch of anime".[6] Kang explained that after watching Sony's Spider-Verse films, which features a "hybrid 2D-3D style", they decided to pull "away from every 2D element in our movie" and instead "took a lot of inspiration from faces and the look and feel of anime" with the aim of doing "a CG version of it".[6] Beveridge similarly noted the inspiration of "2D aesthetics but with three-dimensional language" and that they wanted the film to have a "very bold graphic look".[6] Beveridge also highlighted shifting the characters' faces to reflect the film's tone such "high-glamour moments" where "they need to feel like pop stars in an animated world", "animated aggro" which has "faces with a lot more line work, a lot more angularity", and "hyper-ridiculous" moments they referred to as "Chibi, or demi-Chibi" which is "super-cute and exaggerated features".[6] The film was completed in April 2025.[citation needed]

Music

The film's original songs were written by Danny Chung, IDO, Vince, KUSH, EJAE, Jenna Andrews, Stephen Kirk, Lindgren, Mark Sonnenblick and Daniel Rojas; and produced by Teddy Park, 24, IDO, DOMINSUK, Andrews, Kirk, Lindgren and Ian Eisendrath. Marcelo Zarvos composed the score. The soundtrack will also feature the voices of Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami, Andrew Choi, Kevin Woo, samUIL Lee, Neckwav and Lea Salonga. The soundtrack's lead single "Takedown" will be released in June 2025, performed by Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Chaeyoung of Twice.[9]

Release

When the film was first announced in March 2021, a release timetable was not set.[3] Later on that same month, the film was listed to have a release type of theatrical.[4] In April 2022, it was reported that Netflix registered a filing for the film.[10][11] The film was confirmed to be coming to the streamer in February 2023, in a Business Insider interview with Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman.[12] In June 2024, the film was announced to be released in 2025.[13] In April 2025, it was revealed by an animator that the film would be released in June, while later that month, it was announced for a release date of June 20, 2025.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hatchett, Keisha (April 24, 2025). "Demon Hunters, Arriving This Summer, Unveils Full Voice Cast". Netflix.com. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
  2. ^ "Nathan Schauf". Sony Pictures Animation. Retrieved June 16, 2025. Nathan Schauf is a lead editor at Sony Pictures Animation, most recently working on the studio's highly anticipated feature film 'KPop Demon Hunters.'
  3. ^ a b c d e f Donnelly, Matt (March 8, 2021). "Animated Musical About Demon Hunting K-Pop Girl Group in the Works at Sony (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production - K-Pop: Demon Hunters". Variety Insight. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  5. ^ "kpop demon hunters". Sony Pictures Animation. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Gaur, Ryan (June 13, 2025). "The Directors of 'KPop: Demon Hunters' Take Us Backstage of Their Netflix/Sony Showstopper". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  7. ^ Romano, Nick (May 22, 2025). "KPop Demon Hunters trailer reveals a fiend-fighting girl group in pop-powered animated musical (exclusive)". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  8. ^ David S. Cohen; Paula Hendrickson; Karen Idelson; Nick Krewen; Todd Longwell; Stuart Miller (April 9, 2025). "Variety's Legal Impact Report 2025: Meet Hollywood's Top Entertainment Attorneys". Variety. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  9. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (April 24, 2025). "Sony's 'KPop Demon Hunters' Cast, Music Roster & Netflix Premiere Date Revealed". Animation magazine. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  10. ^ Moore, Kasey (February 17, 2023). "'K-Pop: Demon Hunters': Sony Animation Movie To Release Exclusively on Netflix". What's On Netflix. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  11. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (April 13, 2022). "News Bytes: 'City of Ghosts' Nominated for Peabody, Sony's 'K-Pop' Might Groove on Netflix, 'Sonic 2' Blasts the BO & More". Animation Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  12. ^ Atkinson, Claire (February 16, 2023). "Sony's movie chief talks China censorship, upcoming game adaptation 'Gran Turismo,' and how his studio is preparing for a potential Hollywood writers' strike". Business Insider. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  13. ^ Grobar, Matt (June 6, 2024). "Maggie Kang & Chris Appelhans Directing Animated Feature 'K-Pop: Demon Hunters' For Netflix – First Look". Deadline Hollywood.
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