2 weeks ago
If original IP is nan aureate summons successful nan movie industry, Maggie Kang has recovered it and taken it to unprecedented levels pinch nan breakout occurrence of her animated characteristic KPop Demon Hunters. Based connected an original thought from Kang astir a Korean woman set battling underworld invaders, it has not only go Netflix’s astir watched movie ever since its June 2025 merchandise — it’s astatine 540 cardinal views and counting — it besides made history astatine nan Oscars this twelvemonth erstwhile Kang won nan grant for Best Animated Feature, making her nan first female of Korean decent to ever triumph successful nan category, and “Golden” became nan first K-pop opus to triumph successful nan Best Original Song category.
Kang is simply a head astatine Sony Pictures Animation, which developed and produced nan task for Netflix, and nan film’s stunning viewing figures prompted nan streamer to merchandise a sing-along type of nan movie successful cinemas for a play successful August, which earned Netflix its first No. 1 triumph astatine nan container agency pinch a $19 cardinal tally. The streamer re-released nan movie connected Halloween weekend, wherever it took $6 million, and since past nan movie has earned a Grammy triumph for “Golden”, struck a artifact woody pinch Hasbro and Mattel, and presently has a sequel successful nan works, frankincense solidifying an unparallelled arena for what was an wholly chartless IP a twelvemonth ago.
“I could ne'er person expected this benignant of reaction,” says Kang, who co-directed nan movie pinch Chris Appelhans. “But I was assured that if I were to make a movie that I felt was great, past it would beryllium received very well. When we vanished making it, I loved it, because I hadn’t seen thing for illustration this earlier and I’m truthful proud because I really pushed myself to my limits.”
KPop Demon Hunters follows Rumi, Mira and Zoey, A.K.A. kickass superstar woman set HUNTR/X, who protect nan world from acheronian forces. The communicative was yet calved retired of Kang’s desire to spot thing different.
Kang says she wanted to spot women who were “beautiful, badass and strong” but besides “really funny and moreover stupid”.
“I felt location were things that I hadn’t seen yet, not conscionable for practice and Korean culture, but besides nan type of female characters that I hadn’t seen successful animation aliases movies successful general,” she says. “I felt for illustration I hadn’t seen female characters portrayed successful nan astir existent measurement for me, particularly successful nan superhero category.”
“I felt location were things that I hadn’t seen yet, not conscionable for practice and Korean culture, but besides nan type of female characters that I hadn’t seen successful animation aliases movies successful general.
Maggie Kang“I don’t deliberation stupid is simply a antagonistic word. I deliberation stupid is great, because it takes a batch of courageousness and assurance to beryllium that measurement and to show that portion of yourself. I wanted to spot female relationships that really embraced that, and nan intimacy that comes from that and nan vulnerabilities that travel pinch it. I conscionable wanted to spot nan afloat spectrum of nan female character.”
Born successful Seoul, Kang grew up successful Toronto, and she says she sewage into animation because of her emotion of stories. “As a child, I wasn’t personification who had a sketchbook and drew successful it arsenic a hobby,” she says. “I only ever really did drawings if location was a communicative aliases a characteristic that really needed drawings.”
Teachers would often show her parents that she was really talented successful storytelling, drafting and art, which yet led her to nan prestigious Sheridan College successful Ontario, wherever she studied classical animation.
After graduating she applied for a trainee domiciled successful nan communicative section of DreamWorks. Two weeks later she was accepted and recovered herself connected a level to LA, wherever she has been ever since.
Kang says she’s spent nan past 2 decades “learning nan ropes” and admits that she didn’t moreover cognize what a communicative creator did erstwhile she first arrived successful LA. “I conscionable knew that it was a occupation that required maine to tie and show stories and that was what I wanted to do. I knew that I yet wanted to nonstop thing of my ain and that was wherever I wanted to yet extremity up, but I didn’t want to unit it. I conscionable wanted to beryllium prepared for nan occupation alternatively than conscionable get there.”
While astatine DreamWorks, Kang worked crossed projects specified arsenic nan Puss In Boots franchise and The Croods: A New Age, arsenic good arsenic Rise of nan Guardians, Kung-Fu Panda 3, Trolls, Shrek Forever After, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Over nan Hedge. She besides contributed arsenic a communicative creator to Illumination Entertainment’s Minions: The Rise of Gru and Warner Animation Group’s The LEGO Ninjago Movie, wherever she was caput of story.
“I’m gladsome I took my time, because erstwhile I stepped into nan domiciled I was really assured successful my skills and I was capable to show nan studios what benignant of movie I wanted because location were not a batch of comps that I could supply for them, because this reside didn’t really exist, moreover successful unrecorded action.”
Kang’s trajectory astatine Sony saw her turn from supervisor to head and then, successful 2018, Sony put her transportation astir a K-pop woman group group to prevention nan world from a group of mythological demons into development. The original concept, she says, was “dark, big and very violent.”
Then astir six months into development, Sony Pictures Animation President Kristine Belson said she thought nan thought was “bigger” and felt for illustration it had “franchise potential” and suggested Kang make it into much of a four-quadrant film.
They began to look for a co-director to thief Kang style nan idea. Initially, they hoped to find different Korean filmmaker, but aft a twelvemonth of searching, Kang yet recovered her partner successful Appelhans, nan filmmaker down nan U.S.-Chinese animated characteristic Wish Dragon for Sony. “He’s joined to a Korean female and so, culturally, moreover though he’s not Korean, I knew that he was very acquainted pinch nan culture,” says Kang. “What I really respected astir Chris is that erstwhile he made Wish Dragon, which is culturally a Chinese movie, he knew he needed to spell to China to make it, truthful he really moved retired location and worked location for 2 years pinch a afloat Chinese crew. So, I had immense respect for him because he knew nan worth of that.”
Culture specificity was incredibly important to Kang arsenic she crafted this story. She admits that she didn’t person to do overmuch investigation erstwhile it came to “the large ideas” and nan demons and locations. She grew pinch a heavy knowledge of Korean mythology and notes that her main investigation points were to make judge that nan communicative was “authentic to what is culturally specific.”
“We wanted every small item to beryllium historically and culturally correct,” she says. “One of nan biggest things is that I wanted to show Korea nan measurement that I cognize it and nan measurement it is. I didn’t want to make things up aliases person this beryllium a fantasized type of Asian culture. I deliberation it’s vulnerable erstwhile we go OK pinch [reductive] Asian practice — I want much than that. I want circumstantial Asian civilization and circumstantial Asian representation. I wanted each portion of this movie to beryllium Korean.”
They brought connected Korean linguistics professor Mijeong Mimi Kim from Washington University to beryllium a course-corrector for their story. For example, nan first draught of nan book featured emperors passim nan story. “But location were nary emperors successful Korea, they were each kings, truthful we had to alteration nan language,” says Kang. “It was mini specifications for illustration that that we had to do for authenticity.”
KPop Demon Hunters did deed a circumstantial taste saccharine spot, pinch audiences engaging much than ever pinch Korean popular culture, but it’s Kang’s authenticity that has propelled nan thought to cult status.
“This movie is conscionable truthful purely me, and I deliberation Chris would opportunity nan aforesaid thing. Even though he’s 1 of nan board that made this, he was very supportive successful making this movie my vision.”
Kang is presently working connected nan sequel, which she is adamant astir keeping “fresh, astonishing and original,” and she and Appelhans are crossed each of nan imaginative for nan IP.
“We want afloat power of that, because this is now a franchise and nan imaginative is truthful important and everything that comes retired of this franchise has to beryllium precocious quality. The K-pop fans are very strict and they will notice.”
She continues: “What I would urge to anybody successful nan imaginative section is to conscionable thin into your ain individuality. It doesn’t matter what gender you are. That’s each you tin do — bring yourself to nan table.”
