KPop Demon Hunters 2 Gets a Theatrical Release After First Movie's Smashing Success on Streaming
The KPop Demon Hunters sequel won’t be repeating the mistakes of its predecessor, having secured a guaranteed theatrical release following the first film’s smashing success.
The news was casually and somewhat unceremoniously buried in an October 20 report from The Hollywood Reporter, which dove into the events behind the departure of Netflix’s former film chief, Dan Lin.
According to THR, Lin helped secure a theatrical release for KPop Demon Hunters 2, a move that the outlet noted “hasn’t been officially announced.”
News of a sequel — er, more like sequels — was revealed in November 2025 when Variety reported that Netflix and Sony had inked a deal for a second animated film, with a release date planned for 2029. Around that same time, The Wrap revealed what’s next for the KPop Demon Hunters universe, including plans for a live-action movie, a stage play and two sequels to create a film trilogy. A spinoff series and short film were also mentioned, though none of these particular projects have been officially announced by the streamer.
Co-director Maggie Kang has already set expectations high for more stories from Huntrix in their quest to protect the Honmoon. “We’ve set up so much for potential backstory,” she told Variety in a July interview. “Obviously, there’s a lot of questions that are left unanswered and areas that are not explored. We had to do that because there’s only so much movie you could tell in 85 minutes.”
KPop Demon Hunters became Netflix’s most-watched offering ever, outperforming live-action films and TV series alike. It spawned oodles of Halloween costumes, sing-along versions of the movie, and oodles of live performances from the film’s singers, EJAE, Rei Ami, and Audrey Nuna (at the Oscars, no less!).
The franchise went on to snag collaborations with McDonald’s, Fortnite, and even LEGO, among many others. Given its huge success, it comes as little surprise that Netflix is taking notes from the first film and rolling out the red carpet for its next installment. And considering the popularity of its limited-time theatrical screenings once Netflix took note of its success, it's safe to say that it won't pass up the bag this time around.
Dan Lin was a huge proponent of theatrical releases for Netflix’s films, according to THR’s report. While Co-CEO Ted Sarandos preferred the pandemic-era strategy of going straight to streaming, Lin picked up on the increasing demand for theatrical experiences from younger moviegoers — a footprint he left at the company before his recent exit.
In related news, Derpy the tiger recently scored a 37,000-Piece Kpop Demon Hunters Build with LEGO — a far funner story than a Christian metal band called Demon Hunter that sued Netflix over copyright infringement earlier this year. (Netflix dismissed these claims, saying the “allegations are without merit” in an official statement.)