Bad news for fans of the biggest movie in Netflix history: You are going to be waiting a very long time for the encore. Sony Pictures Animation has hinted that a sequel to K-Pop: Demon Hunters likely won’t hit screens until after 2029.
The story doesn’t need to be rehashed in great detail as you probably know it by now. Launched in mid-2025, KPop Demon Hunters had a modest opening on Netflix, and in fact, within the first 7-10 days, it actually looked like a middling animated movie, but then something happened. People were rewatching over and over and more people were jumping on the train. Fast forward 91 days, and the movie became Netflix’s biggest movie in its history and by quite some distance. In fact, according to the Netflix Engagement Reports, it had more viewership in 2025 than any movie did between 2023 and 2025.
With the film currently sweeping the awards circuit and Sony Pictures Animation looking to launch their new theatrical film GOAT, presidents Kristine Belson and Damien de Froberville sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the future of their slate.
While they confirmed the franchise’s future is bright, they also confirmed the timeline is long.
No Sequel Before 2029?
Animation is notoriously time-consuming, but fans were hoping for a quick turnaround given the film’s massive success. However, when asked about reports suggesting a sequel could be ready for 2029, Kristine Belson suggested that timeline may be optimistic to put it mildly.
The 2029 data came as part of a larger Bloomberg piece discussing the movie’s success back in November 2025, talking about Netflix’s inability to capitalize immediately through a slow rollout of merchandise, which has now caught up. The piece concluded with the 2029 date, stating:
“The biggest challenge—and the one with the highest potential reward—will be producing a good sequel. Animated films take years to make, and Netflix has just finalized its deals for a second movie with the directors and Sony Corp., which originally developed KPop Demon Hunters within its own animation division. Fortunately, by the time a full-length sequel arrives in 2029, toymakers and retailers will be ready.”
When The Hollywood Reporter suggested that a 2029 release date seemed “far-fetched,” Belson reportedly placed a finger to her nose—a gesture indicating that the assumption was “on the nose,” or correct.
If 2029 is considered too ambitious, fans are likely looking at a 2030 or 2031 release date, if not even later.
Why the long wait?
The primary reason for the delay is simple: the creative team hasn’t started on the sequel yet because they are too busy winning awards for the first one.
When asked if directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans were currently in a room mapping out the sequel, Belson was candid about the current state of production:
“There’s been a lot to tend to in terms of the award campaign. After all the noise and awards and big parties with big people — yes. It’ll be back to the two of them in a room.”
Essentially, pre-production cannot truly begin until the current awards season concludes. Despite the long wait, SPA president Damien de Froberville made it clear that the sequel will be a top priority and will aim to match the quality leap seen between the Spider-Verse films.
“KPop will be the same thing [as Spider-Verse]. It’s just like Spider-Verse. The world is so rich — the world of the demons and the pop star [element], what happened to Jinu. There’s so much we could expand into.”
The interview also shed light on why the movie ended up on Netflix rather than in theaters. Belson noted that they determined the film wasn’t “theatrically viable” initially, but that Netflix became the “perfect storm” for the IP.
Interestingly, the movie was not an overnight success on the platform. De Froberville revealed that the 3-day and 10-day metrics were just “OK.” It wasn’t until around day 14 that Netflix executive Hannah Minghella called to say, “Something is going on here.”
“It needed time, which you do not get theatrically,” Belson added.
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS – When they aren’t selling out stadiums, Kpop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey use their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat. Together, they must face their biggest enemy yet – an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise. ©2025 Netflix
While this is bad news for the sequel movie, you can bet your bottom dollar that Netflix won’t leave this interim period completely empty. There were rumors about an animated short last year (titled Debut: A KPOP Demon Hunters Story), although, as we reported at the time, it is expected to be a student project done in conjunction with the main movie. We don’t know whether it’ll ever see the light of day. Especially as there’s been nothing on that since, with Netflix declining to comment. Likewise, late last year, a title appeared on Netflix called “KPop Demon Hunters Bonus Content,” but it was later removed, and we’ve had no additional information on what it was.
Netflix will get something out the door, though. They already gave the singers of HUNTR/X (Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami) a primetime spot for its NFL Gameday broadcast on Christmas, and we wouldn’t be surprised if we get an expanded version of that sometime down the line.
.png)
Follow Us