SEOUL, April 2 — Maggie Kang, co-director of the Oscar-winning “KPop Demon Hunters”, said the mega-hit animated film’s sequel will be bigger in scale with plenty in store for fans, Yonhap News Agency reported.
“I would like to keep it confidential, no spoilers at all,” she said at a press conference in Seoul yesterday, which was held to mark the film’s two Oscar wins last month.
The sensational hit claimed victory in the Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song categories with “Golden” from its original soundtrack at the Academy Awards.
“We have a big idea, but I don’t know the details yet,” she added, declining to elaborate further.
Co-director Chris Appelhans, who is visiting the country for the first time since the Netflix film’s June 20 release, said the guiding principle behind the sequel remains unchanged from the first.
“Part of what inspires us working on the sequel is we want to do things that we did the first time, not in the sense of repeating but in the sense of surprising,” he said. “Doing things that are unexpected, that are breaking rules, that are pushing the boundaries.”
He emphasised that authenticity will remain at the film’s core.
“Authenticity is the freedom of the soul to salt the movie on every level, from the girls’ characters to the music to the mythology.”
On the question of scale, he said it is the team’s “duty to make the biggest, most spectacular movie” possible within their financial means, a budget reportedly larger than the first film’s given its breakout success.
But he stressed, “At the end of the day, it still goes back to the story — the story and the soul of the story. And you have to find that.”
Mentioning the cultural influence he has received from his Korean wife, which he described as “eye-opening”, Appelhans said the lead character Rumi “embodies” the pride, strength and sense of unity of the Korean people.
“I think Rumi’s story is about somebody who has to suffer a lot, and through coming through that, it makes them really strong,” the American filmmaker said. “My understanding and experience of Korean culture and Korean people is that they’ve been through a lot, and there’s a pride and a strength, a sense of unity forged through history. I was glad that Rumi’s story embodies something of that.”
Early last month, Netflix confirmed it is producing a sequel to the film, which became the streaming giant’s most-watched movie of all time.
“I feel immense pride as a Korean filmmaker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters,” Kang said in a statement at that time. “There’s so much more to this world we have built, and I’m excited to show you. This is only the beginning.”
No further details have been announced. — Bernama-Yonhap
