Seal it up like the honmoon: The creators of KPop Demon Hunters have no interest in a live-action movie adaptation.

Co-directors and writers Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans both shut down the possibility of a live-action version of their film in a recent conversation with the BBC, disputing reports that Netflix could pursue that option following the animated musical’s blockbuster success.

“There’s 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 shared the same sentiments. “One of the great things about animation is that you make these composites of impossibly great attributes,” Appelhans noted. “Rumi can be this goofy comedian and then singing and doing a spinning back-kick a second later and then freefalling through the sky.”

Appelhans added, “The joy of animation is how far you can push and elevate what’s possible. I remember they adapted a lot of different animes and often times, it just feels a little stilted.”

A sequel is reportedly in the works, though Netflix has yet to officially confirm this.

KPop Demon Hunters debuted in June on Netflix and became a runaway cultural hit, shattering records as the most-watched movie ever on the streamer. The animated musical follows K-pop girl group HUNTR/X members Rumi (voiced by Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), who moonlight as demon slayers fending off supernatural threats in between selling out stadium tours and topping music charts.

The group faces their biggest threat yet in the form of the Saja Boys, a rival boy band comprised of demons intent on stealing HUNTR/X’s fanbase and feasting on their souls.

In an instance of art imitating life, the film’s soundtrack also achieved great success as the highest-debuting soundtrack of 2025 on the Billboard 200. The film’s hit single “Golden” even spent some time in the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s global charts. 

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Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami provide the singing voices for HUNTR/X and have also enjoyed mainstream success following the movie’s premiere, appearing briefly on the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Bad Bunny and making their late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly over the summer, Kang alluded to what a possible sequel would entail while discussing the challenges of bringing the expansive feature to screen.

“We were trying to do a non-origin origin story with a concept that’s brand new to people,” Kang said. “What is it about these girls that brought them into HUNTR/X and made them demon hunters? What is each of their backstory? How did they get chosen? What is that journey like?”

Ultimately, “there was really not a space for the movie to show all that,” she said. “So we really had to make these choices of what is essential to the story, and that is the information that we will show.” With a sequel, Kang said, “we can reveal more of that backstory.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly