It’s been less than two months since the Sony Pictures Animation film KPop Demon Hunters premiered on Netflix. The story follows the K-pop girl group Huntr/x as they lead a double life, pop stars dominating the charts by day and hunters who protect humanity from demonic forces at night. Very Hannah Montana-esque, without the “oooh, woah, yeah”s at the end of a scene. KPop Demon Hunters exploded, breaking numerous records for animated films. The film’s original soundtrack reached #1 on the Billboard 200 Album’s chart and the song ‘Golden’ became a hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. A first-time achievement ever by a K-pop Girl Group, albeit fictional. The film achieved 180 million views, the second most watched English-language film on Netflix of all time and it’s top performing animated film. It seems the world was starved for a film that blends the supernatural with catchy K-pop tunes. Usually a film’s success leads to sequels, right? This one’s success might lead to two, and the worst of them all, a live-action remake.
Live-action remakes are the result of creativity on life support. Nostalgia in a cheap suit. Especially with animated film remakes, as they kill the hand drawn magic of the story, one sloppy frame at a time. Does anyone remember the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action tragedy? The storytelling of ATLA is incredible yet complex, but the live-action film was received so badly they refused to execute the remainder of the trilogy. Sure, there’s been a few mildly successful live-action remakes like Aladdin and The Lion King, but I guarantee you not a single soul asked for them. Did you know Disney made a Mulan live-action remake. No? Neither did many others. It grossed a mere $70 million domestically against a $200 million budget and was criticised for lacking emotional depth, the result of changing the storyline and tone of the original film. It failed to capture the charm of the original made possible by animation.
KPop Demon Hunters needs a sequel, I personally would like five for each complex character they introduced me too. But one thing it does not need, is a live-action remake. Are the studio head’s green lighting these remakes aware of the lengthy process of animated films and series? How it can take months to craft a singular fight scene? These months sacrificed contribute to the magic of the result. I can’t imagine how a live-action version of the KPDH final battle scene in the arena would play out, and to be honest I can’t think of anything worse.
Kathrynf 
Alexander Hanjin De Filippo 
Eabha Quinn
I thought KPDH was an amazing film, and this was because it had original characters, music and plot. You make a great point about how much we don’t need live action remakes. I definitely feel as though we have been struggling cinematically for years now, with so many classics being remade into inauthentic and poorly acted versions of what we used to know and love. I would challenge your statement about wanting sequels though. While it would be cool to explore this new world more, I don’t think it would be a crime to just have an amazing stand alone film, as they often never do justice to the first film.