KPop Demon Hunters Is One of the Biggest Animated Films Ever — But Don't Expect a Live-Action Movie

Netflix’s smash deed KPop Demon Hunters has truly taken the satellite by tempest successful the months since its bombshell merchandise — truthful naturally, the doorway is wide unfastened for creator Maggie Kang and her codirector Chris Appelhans to physique much wrong this breathtaking world. That said, don’t expect a live-action remake of the animated sensation.

"There's truthful galore elements of the code and the drama that are truthful suited for animation," Kang told BBC successful a caller interview. "It's truly hard to ideate these characters successful a unrecorded enactment world. It would consciousness excessively grounded. So wholly it wouldn't enactment for me."

Appelhans agreed that it feels, ultimately, limiting with the magic they are trying to craft. "One of the large things astir animation is that you marque these composites of impossibly large attributes. Rumi tin beryllium this goofy comedian and past singing and doing a spinning back-kick a 2nd aboriginal and past freefalling done the sky,” helium told the outlet. “The joyousness of animation is however acold you tin propulsion and elevate what's possible. I retrieve they adapted a batch of antithetic animes and often times, it conscionable feels a small stilted."

So what is adjacent for the KPop Demon Hunters Cinematic Universe (the KPDCU obviously)? "Nothing authoritative we tin speech about,” Kang explained portion noting "there's decidedly much we tin bash with these characters successful this satellite — and immoderate it volition be, it volition beryllium a communicative that deserves to beryllium a sequel, and it volition beryllium thing that we privation to see.”

It’s an absorbing determination considering we unrecorded successful an epoch wherever Disney is chomping astatine the spot to nutrient live-action remakes of astir each of its astir fashionable animated films. It seems Kang and Appelhans recognize thing cardinal that Disney doesn’t: that there’s a level of enchantment and whimsy that simply can’t beryllium replicated successful a live-action film. After all, galore live-action projects extremity up employing CGI and ocular effects to an insane grade to execute that aforesaid magical prime that comes truthful easy with animation.

The determination connected Kang and Appelhans’ portion is particularly noble considering the film’s Oscar prospects, arsenic it seems to beryllium a shoe-in for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song nominations, if not wins arsenic well.

"We tried to bash thing caller and it was truly hard and I deliberation we're truly arrogant of however it came out,” Appelhans said of their chances. “But if radical are going to reward that, that would beryllium awesome."

Kang added: "Just seeing radical enslaved implicit this movie has been truthful wonderful. So each the awards would beryllium great, but I deliberation we consciousness truly unthinkable astir what the movie has done already. So it feels similar we've benignant of won successful a way."

KPop Demon Hunters is disposable to watercourse connected Netflix now, some successful its modular variation and a singalong edition.

Lex Briscuso is simply a movie and tv professional and a freelance amusement writer for IGN. You tin travel her connected Twitter astatine @nikonamerica.