KPop Demon Hunters was one of the biggest hits of 2025, and one of the the most recent triumphs in Western animation. A sequel is in the works, and we're sure from there Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation are set to franchise the heck out of this thing.
However, the original movie that kicked it all off could have been very different. Speaking with Deadline, co-director Maggie Kang explained that when she first pitched the idea all the way back in 2018, it was quite a different movie, describing the original concept as "dark, adult and very violent."
As the project began to take shape, Kristine Belson, the president of Sony Pictures Animation, said the movie could have franchise potential. It was suggested that Kang change some key aspects of the film, which made it more into what it is today. Part of those changes was to bring on a co-director in Chris Appelhans, who may not have been Korean himself, but helped the film keep its cultural identity.
"He's married to a Korean woman and so, culturally, even though he's not Korean, I knew that he was very familiar with the culture," Kang said. "What I really respected about Chris is that when he made Wish Dragon, which is culturally a Chinese movie, he knew he needed to go to China to make it, so he actually moved out there and worked there for two years with a full Chinese crew. So, I had immense respect for him because he knew the value of that."
Would you have wanted to see a more violent KPop Demon Hunters?