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Look, I'm only human, so the news that Netflix is actively engaged in talks with Sony about a sequel to KPop Demon Hunters is certainly cause for celebration. But this also only confirms what I've been worried about since the animated movie first released to significant success: Netflix hasn't necessarily learned anything quite yet, and there's no guarantee it will, and even if it does it certainly seems like it might be the wrong lessons.
If you're somehow not already aware, KPop Demon Hunters – officially Netflix's most popular movie of all time as of this week – features a trio of K-pop stars tasked with keeping the world safe from demons through song. Their group, Huntrix, is at the top of the charts and trying to permanently seal the demons away when a demon boy band tries to beat them at their own game.
Huntrix don't quit
The Sony Pictures Animation movie from directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans has seen a meteoric rise in popularity and was already Netflix's biggest animated movie ever at the end of July. The soundtrack, which is absolutely full of bops, has been all over the top of streaming charts as well as Billboard's Hot 100. And reports for weeks have indicated that Netflix was absolutely interested in doing more.
"More" is exactly the impulse here that needs to be closely considered, however. There are any number of factors that have played into KPop Demon Hunters' success, and so very many variables from streaming vs. theatrical to Sony selling it to Netflix at all in the first place, but the core of what's happened here should not be overlooked: an original animated film from a veteran studio with a strong point of view, great music, charming animation, and women as leads has absolutely smashed every conceivable goal it could have had. Not a sequel or remake. Not an established IP of any kind. Something new and fresh and different.
Again, I'm all for giving the folks responsible their flowers. Kang and Appelhans should absolutely do more with this world if they want, and anyone involved creatively deserves whatever further success comes their way. I'm not going to turn down a sequel or five, and I'm even happy to give a potential live-action remake its fair shake.
But that shouldn't come at the cost of investing in more original animation. If people with money hadn't given KPop Demon Hunters a shot in the first place simply because it wasn't attached to something preexisting, there'd be no success to laud. The risk in sequels is certainly far less, but there's also diminishing returns.
In a perfect world, Netflix would do both – sequels and remakes and reboots as well as entirely new productions – and obviously the streaming service is not a creative monolith, so there's likely to always be some level of investment in the truly new. It's extremely common, however, for dollar sign-shaped blinders to cause executives to squeeze as much value as possible from what's already working.
I don't necessarily think my pleas here are going to shift the tides, so to speak, but it does feel like something of a responsibility to say all of this with my whole chest and whatever small amount of influence afforded to me by my position and experience. Yes, of course I want more KPop Demon Hunters; who wouldn't?
But more than more KPop Demon Hunters, I want more original animation.
KPop Demon Hunters is currently available to stream on Netflix. If you're still looking for something else to watch, be sure to check out our ranking of the best Netflix movies.
