Disney recently revived its lucrative scheme to make live-action versions of all its animated hits—the tepid reaction to Snow White was all but forgotten with the raging success of Lilo & Stitch, and Tangled (possibly starring Scarlett Johansson in the villain role) is back on. But don’t expect one of the biggest non-Disney animated films ever to follow that same path: KPop Demon Hunters intends to stay animated.
Speaking to the BBC, KPop co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans shot down the idea of the record-breaking Netflix musical getting a live-action remake.
“There [are] so many elements of the tone and the comedy that are so suited for animation,” Kang said. “It’s really hard to imagine these characters in a live-action world. It would feel too grounded. So totally it wouldn’t work for me.”
Appelhans is of the same mind. “One of the great things about animation is that you make these composites of impossibly great attributes,” he said. “Rumi can be this goofy comedian and then [be] singing and doing a spinning back-kick a second later and then freefalling through the sky. The joy of animation is how far you can push and elevate what’s possible.”
However, the duo did address the other million-dollar question that KPop Demon Hunters‘ many fans have been asking with increased urgency: sequel when??
Kang told the BBC she’s “excited for the potential for more stories,” though of course there’s nothing official to announce yet. Appelhans again was in agreement: “There’s definitely more we can do with these characters in this world.”
“And whatever it will be,” Kang added, “it will be a story that deserves to be a sequel, and it will be something that we want to see.”