KPop Demon Hunters Is Officially Returning, But There's A Catch

While it might be thrilling to hear that the Kpop Demon Hunters franchise is expanding, readers shouldn’t get too excited by the prospect of new movies from the franchise just yet. The success of Netflix’s animated comedies GOAT and Swapped has proven that family-friendly cartoon movies are a huge part of the streaming service’s biggest hits.

This might sound surprising since Netflix’s output as a streaming service has long been synonymous with mature drama shows aimed at adults, from early hits like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards to more recent successes like Adolescence. However, the revelation makes a surprising amount of sense when some of Netflix’s biggest live-action franchises started out family-friendly, like Wednesday, or grew more family-friendly as their popularity grew, as was the case with the small-town sci-fi mystery drama Stranger Things.

In fact, the first spinoff of Stranger Things even turned the series into an animated cartoon aimed at kids, Tales from ’85, and this shouldn’t come as a shock considering how popular Netflix’s biggest animated movie ever is. Released in 2025, KPop Demon Hunters was a huge critical success, and won both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the Academy Awards. An urban fantasy story, KPop Demon Hunters centers on the girl group Huntrix, successful pop stars who moonlight as demon hunters.

The Next KPop Demon Hunters Movie Won't Arrive For Multiple Years

Rumi, Mira, and Zoey’s first onscreen adventure pitted them against a group of demons, the Saja Boys, who posed as a rival boy band. Inventive, original, and brimming with unforgettable songs and dazzling animation, KPop Demon Hunters was a genuine pop culture phenomenon upon release, and Netflix has been sure to capitalize on its popularity since. However, there is a catch to the franchise's comebacks.

Penguin Random House and Netflix announced the release of the 704-page screen comic KPop Demon Hunters: The Official Screen Comic Boxed Set in early November 2026, but, since screen comics utilize stills from animated movies to tell their stories as sequential art, the book won’t necessarily feature any new storylines or scenes for Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. This may come as something of a letdown for fans of the franchise.

Furthermore, Netflix (via Tudum) announced a global live concert tour for Huntrix, offering fans a chance to see the band in real life. As fun as this is, the prospect of an actual new movie in the series is clearly not the franchise's biggest priority. Even though the ending of Kpop Demon Hunters set up a sequel perfectly, it will still be a while before the next movie in the series arrives.

Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters Franchise Plans Aren't Focused On Movies Or Shows

Sony and Netflix revealed in March 2026 that a KPop Demon Hunters sequel is currently in the works, with Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans returning for the franchise’s sophomore effort. Early reports suggest that the movie won’t be released until 2029, which is a fairly lengthy wait for fans of the movie, and Netflix has not yet announced any other spinoffs or related shows or movies.

Thus, fans of the franchise will have to be content with KPop Demon Hunters: The Official Screen Comic Boxed Set and the live concert tour for the time being. There are many more adventures that the main characters of KPop Demon Hunters could go on in future outings, but the slow pace of the franchise means that viewers will be waiting a while to see them.

Thus, the return of the KPop Demon Hunters franchise is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, super fans will be delighted to get their hands on a glossy new retelling of the original movie, but for other viewers, these screen comics and live tours may just be a reminder of how long the wait for the next Kpop Demon Hunters movie truly is.

Source: Netflix (via Tudum)