After the massive box-office triumph of the Spider-Verse films, Sony Pictures Animation is back with a brand-new hero team-up animated adventure called KPop Demon Hunters. The feature film, which drops on Netflix June 20, follows a girl group named Huntrix who must balance their skyrocketing superstardom with moonlighting as demon hunters, saving the world using the power of music and magical girl action to protect their fans from an impending demonic invasion.
Ahead of its streaming release, io9 spoke to Arden Cho, May Hong, and Ji-young Yoo—the voices behind the Huntrix’s trio Rumi, Mira, and Zoey—to reflect on the thrill of staring in the film, the importance of meaningful Asian representation in animation, and the unique challenge of bringing its titular down-to-earth, demon-hunting pop stars to life.
Isaiah Colbert, io9: What drew you to starring in KPop Demon Hunters? Were there any elements about the movie’s story or characters that immediately gripped you as actors?
Arden Cho: Initially, I just loved the idea. I love K-pop and I’m all about three cool, awesome, badass leads who are Asian American—Korean American to be specific. I loved the story and I was so excited just to be a part of it.
May Hong: I like how tough Mira is, but how vulnerable she actually really is. How sensitive she is. How loyal she is, and I very much relate to that. That really drew me in.
Ji-young Yoo: I’m a big fan of K-pop, and I love doing voice over work so this was the best of both worlds. The more I found out about it, the more I thought it would be so much fun. I mean, from the title alone, anytime I tell my friends the name of the movie, they always start smiling, and I think that’s indicative of how fun the film is.
io9: As advertised on the tin.
Yoo: Yes!
io9: Did you draw inspiration from different K-Pop groups or supernatural shows while preparing for your roles in KPop Demon Hunters? Were there any specific performances or series that helped you bring your characters to life?
Cho: For Rumi, I was focusing more on just her experience. She just goes through so much through the movie. She’s going through a lot of things. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s a big journey for her. I was focusing a lot on who she was not only as a friend, a sister to the girls, but a leader, and also a slayer. I grew up loving so many shows that are sort of in that world of strong females—Buffy the Vampire Slayer was literally my favorite, always—and so I feel in a sense [that] I wanted Rumi to be very strong and grounded. But also sweet and cute. We can’t take credit for the music stuff because we’re not in that part of the girls, but I definitely wanted her to be as cool as Blackpink, Aespa, Le Sserafim, and everybody. It exceeded my expectations. But I feel like I didn’t do much for that. I can’t really take credit for that. I feel like that was the world that was created for us.
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