‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Administrators on Assembly Fan Expectations and Championing Authentic, Inclusive Animation

When Sony Photos Animation first introduced KPop Demon Hunters again in 2021, director, author, and longtime Okay-pop devotee Maggie Kang (The Lego Ninjago Film) envisioned the challenge as each a love letter to the early days of the style she grew up with and a vibrant celebration of Korean tradition. Teaming up with co-director Chris Appelhans (Want Dragon), Kang got down to craft a movie that merges the dazzling precision of Okay-pop choreography with the spectacle of magical lady motion, all wrapped up in an authentic animated journey premiering on Netflix on June 20.

KPop Demon Hunters follows Huntrix, a rising lady group made up of Rumi, Mira, and Zoey (voiced by Arden Cho, Might Hong, and Ji-young Yoo), as they juggle their pop superstardom with their secret lives battling demons invading the human realm beneath the command of the sinister Gwi-Ma (performed by Squid Recreation‘s Lee Byung-hun). To forestall the women from enveloping the world within the therapeutic gentle of their music, he concocts the one plan that would threaten the loyalty of their diehard fanbase: a rival supernatural boyband referred to as the Saja Boys.

Earlier than the movie’s launch, io9 spoke with Kang and Appelhands about how they balanced the expectations of Okay-pop superfans, magical lady fans, and animation lovers, in addition to their hopes for a way their authentic movie may encourage a brand new wave of mythmakers within the animation trade.

Isaiah Colbert, io9: What sparked the concept of merging the world of Okay-Pop idols with demon searching? Was there a defining second or inspiration that led to this distinctive fusion of music and supernatural motion?

Maggie Kang: It was first conceived as only a demon hunter concept that was a gaggle of actually superior girls who fought demons from Korean demonology—a film that was set in modern-day Korea. The Okay-pop of all of it was form of the very last thing to be added in as a result of demon searching is often accomplished at midnight alleyways. Not in entrance of individuals. I simply needed the women to have a public-facing picture and Okay-pop felt like a cool factor to set the film in. It naturally made it a musical and gave it that spectacle and scale.

Observe 01: “The way it’s Completed”. Carried out by HUNTRIX!

Kpop Demon Hunters premieres THIS FRIDAY! pic.twitter.com/U3y6Cq23CH

— Netflix (@netflix) June 16, 2025

io9: Clearly with that title KPop Demon Hunters does set a excessive expectations for each electrifying motion and dynamic dance sequences as effectively. KPop Demon Hunters naturally carries numerous strain, particularly for Okay-pop followers eagerly anticipating it. How did the crew navigate that problem and make sure the movie delivered on each fronts?

Kang: It was powerful. It’s a really loyal, devoted fanbase that expects lots on each facet. Whether or not it’s design, lighting, animation, we made positive that it will maintain as much as what we see in Okay-pop immediately. The dance apply movies that we see are so good already. It was like “How will we take what’s so nice that they’re doing as actual people [and] carry it into animation and elevate that?” Even with some Okay-drama lighting and music video lighting is so stunning. It was a problem to carry it into the animation medium and be like, “Okay, they’ve accomplished all this wonderful stuff. How will we take it one step additional?” It was numerous first determining how do they do it at the moment and the way we will take it up a notch as a result of we’re animation.

Chris Appelhans: I feel Maggie actually early on mentioned all of us love Okay-pop and if we attempt to make it for our personal fandom—let’s discover lighting that we expect is wonderful, and choreo that we love, and go “Dude, that’s so good”—that’s the most sincere, genuine solution to make the film. And, if we’re fortunate, the opposite individuals who love Okay-pop will find it irresistible too. However that’s all we may management and that was really actually useful as a result of it felt like you may go and take a look at nice music movies and be impressed by, “That is the form of editorial lighting that I at all times love and at all times needed to see in animation. I’m impressed to go get our lighting crew to go increase their sport to carry this degree to the fabric.” I really feel prefer it’s what you mentioned, a love letter from the medium we all know very well. We all know this particular stuff you could’t do, additionally.

Kang: Watching it as followers ourselves and eager to push the medium,[and] being our harshest critics.

One of the crucial troublesome issues to do for us Simulation Artists is to create dynamic motion in jewellery items.
In these outfits Rumi has greater than 35 particular person items of knickknack from earrings to chains.
¿Most advanced piece? Mira’s shoulder tassels !!
KPOP DH June 20! pic.twitter.com/yuNFVAqBtt

— Cruz Contreras (@cruzencanada) June 8, 2025

io9: What was probably the most thrilling second in directing KPop Demon Hunters, the place you hit an eureka second in manufacturing while you actually felt you have been bringing one thing distinctive and particular to life?

Appelhans: In phases. Totally different scenes delivered a special a part of the promise. I bear in mind Maggie doing a little actually humorous reference movies for one of many ladies’ conversations and seeing in animation day by day—that precise comedy reveals up in our characters—and I’m like, “Oh my god, the women are going to be actually cute, and lovely, and peculiar.” And the primary time seeing nice choreo and animation. A few of our Korean animators did some stuff that we didn’t even ask for, they simply took it and ran with it, and we bought the butterflies. Like, “Examine, oh my gosh. We will do that.” We saved checking packing containers that have been a part of this entire bold soup.

Kang: Just like me, too. Discovering the form language of even their eyes and mouth shapes on a Korean face, we needed the expressions to really feel very Korean and the women’ mouth shapes to really feel like they’re talking Korean, though they have been talking within the English language. One of many options we discovered—considered one of our wonderful animators Sofia [Seung Hee Lee]—found out rounding the corners of the mouth was actually useful in them really feel that manner. These form of milestones of determining sure languages for design and magnificence actually cracked these issues.

Appelhans: Each time we heard the model of a track that we lastly felt was doing it—whether or not it was the third strive or the ninth strive—when a track actually began to hit and we’d really feel it in our guts, that was at all times like, “Oh my gosh, we did it. Yet one more piece to the puzzle” as a result of that’s so elusive—a pop track that’s really a bop.

My solely contribution to KPOP Demon Hunter. Screaming characters appears to be my factor.

Congrats to the remainder of the onerous working crew of this film! @sonyanimation pic.twitter.com/z48xJsLSpN

— Guillermo Martinez (@billybobmartinz) May 24, 2025

io9: Talking of pop songs, the movie additionally options contributions from the gifted members of Twice. How did you strategy collaborating with Okay-pop artists to carry the musical components of KPop Demon Hunters to life? What was the method of making certain the soundtrack not solely energized the movie but in addition complemented its emotional core?

Kang: It was actually necessary for the whole film to stay in that Okay-pop area. And collaborating with an precise Okay-pop artist felt prefer it lastly legitimized our challenge within the Okay-pop world. Working with Black Label and all these wonderful pop writers that write for BTS, Twice, and finally collaborating with Twice. Ian Eisendrath, who’s our govt music producer, and Sony Music actually needed this album to really feel like an actual, legit Okay-pop album, so that they introduced this wonderful crew collectively and created an album that may maintain up within the Okay-pop area.

io9: Recently, animated movies like Turning Crimson and Ultraman: Rising have demonstrated the ability of animation as each a storytelling medium and a bridge into beloved fandoms, reminiscent of Okay-pop and Tokusatsu. These movies not solely rejoice vibrant animation and produce life to pre-existing fandoms but in addition middle Asian heritage and permit characters to middle of their genuine narratives. What was most necessary in balancing the worldwide attraction of Okay-pop with the importance of Asian-led tales advised by Asian characters?

Kang: One solution to reply that’s that in animation, we’ve advised numerous tales about inanimate objects [and] completely different animals. And we’ve but to inform tales which can be culturally particular by means of a special cultural voice that may also be very common. It’s actually promising that we’re seeing extra movies and animation which can be advised by means of a special cultural lens. It’s actually necessary to attempt to function as a lot range as attainable in animation as a result of, primarily, it’s nonetheless considered a medium for extra of a youthful viewers. We now have all these completely different movies globally that displaying us that and it appears like we’re not likely doing that fairly but in animation. I feel that’s one thing that we actually want to present extra range at this stage in animation.

Appelhans: What I’ve seen in my 25 years doing that is how far more numerous the precise day-to-day crews are and the expertise, and meaning every part. As a result of when Maggie reveals up with an authentic thought, there are extremely skilled and gifted Korean artists in each division, they usually don’t need to do any homework. It’s their lived expertise they bring about, their influences, their favourite issues that formed them as artists. That permits us to make extra attention-grabbing, extra authentic movies than what may’ve been attainable 25 years in the past. It’s form of occurring beneath the hood, nevertheless it’s actually promising and thrilling.

io9: What do you hope audiences and your fellow artistic colleagues in animation take away from experiencing KPop Demon Hunters eager to share this common story with the world?

Kang: There’s nothing like movie that reveals that it doesn’t matter what language you converse, what tradition you grew up in, regardless of if you’re a demon, a chair, or a toy doll, all people feels the identical issues as human beings. Telling tales with characters that emote in a really Korean manner and converse wanting very Korean, I hope that audiences and filmmakers can see that all of us finally are human and we really feel and wish the identical issues which is love and acceptance

KPop Demon Hunters streams on Netflix beginning June 20.

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