KPop Demon Hunters now has a new sequel in the works with Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation, and unfortunately a sequel existing at all already raises a big question that ruins the movie’s happy ending. KPop Demon Hunters has been the most successful feature film release with Netflix in the streamer’s history, so it was no surprise to find out that a deal for a sequel had been reached with the film’s directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. The only downside of such a deal, however, is what it means for the first film.
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KPop Demon Hunters has been such a monumental success for Netflix, but it was an honest to goodness surprise for all those involved. Not only did it not seem like Sony Pictures Animation had a lot of faith in it when it launched with the streaming platform rather than going to theaters, but it’s also a film that ultimately has a complete story that is allowed to come to a proper end. It’s such a conclusive end, in fact, that any sequel is unfortunately going to undermine the happy ending for HUNTR/X seen in that first film.
KPop Demon Hunters Needs to Have Demons to Hunt
KPop Demon Hunters ends with Rumi, Mira and Zoey defeating Gwi-Ma and sealing the Honmoon. Meaning that no demons would presumably threaten humanity in the future, and it took a great deal of effort to even get to this point. It’s why when the original film ends, it’s a happy ending that feels deserved given all that HUNTR/X had gone through to get to that point. It’s also the kind of ending that didn’t really seem like it was gearing up for a potential future adventure to come. For all intents and purposes at the time, this was going to be it.
A year after KPop Demon Hunters first debuted, we got to see new antics from HUNTR/X as part of a collaboration with McDonald’s in a few animated shorts. But this also highlighted one of the big issues with the upcoming sequel as HUNTR/X was once again trying to win fans over the Saja Boys. It might seem like a retread for now, but it also unfortunately reveals that this is is a situation that HUNTR/X will need to deal with in a sequel. Any new threat is going to get through the Honmoon to get to them.
Unfortunately, you can’t have a KPop Demon Hunters film without demons to hunt. That means undermining the happy ending of the original. A weaker Honmoon means that HUNTR/X has lost faith in the fans. Whether it’s the Saja Boys making their comeback, a new set of demonic challengers, or even a rival girl group of hunters that had been operating in secret or something, any new threat is unfortunately going to take the wind out of the sails of such a great ending for that first film.
What Does This Mean for KPop Demon Hunters 2?
Continuing from such a downfall isn’t impossible, however. KPop Demon Hunters had been in development for seven years according to previous comments from Maggie Kang, and that’s likely why a sequel is going to take long to eventually make its debut. It’s thankfully not going to be as long of a process, however, as most of the pieces of the puzzle are already firmly in place. Now that the first film is going to be turned into a franchise, the first film’s building blocks can lead to what’s next. The trouble is going to be injecting more drama into such a complete story.
There are ways to work with the expanding world without ruining that happy ending, however. It’s just going to be tough. For example, “Golden,” was teased to be HUNTR/X’s in-universe greatest song that would help them seal the Honmoon. The funny thing about that, however, is that it’s technically not the song that actually accomplished that in the end. It might have won an Academy Award and topped real world charts, but “What It Sounds Like” was the way Gwi-Ma was ultimately defeated. Which means it’s possible for HUNTR/X to still make a greater track.
This might be the direction the sequel goes in. HUNTR/X could be in search of a song that could possibly top everything they had done in the first film. This would mirror KPop Demon Hunters 2′s real struggle to surpass the first film too as fans are going to be very critical of the follow up thanks to how big of a juggernaut the property has become in the last year. Either way, it means that the first film’s happy ending is no longer going to be as complete as it was before.
If that also results in a great sequel, KPop Demon Hunters fans will likely be fine with that sacrifice. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in theย ComicBook Forum!
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