Sony Pictures Animation is in development on a new animated feature that taps into South Korea’s incredibly successful K-Pop music movement.
Tentatively titled K-Pop: Demon Hunters, this musical action-adventure pic is about a K-Pop girl group whose talented members are trying to balance life in the spotlight with their secret identity as demon hunters.
Maggie Kang (The Lego Ninjago Movie), Chris Appelhans (Wish Dragon) and Aron Warner (Shrek, Wish Dragon) have all signed on to direct. The film’s story is inspired by Kang’s own background; she says in a press release that it’s a love letter to K-Pop and her Korean roots.
The artistic team on the project is led by production designer Mingjue Helen Chen and art director Ami Thompson, who both worked on Disney’s animated film Raya and the Last Dragon, which was just released on Disney+ this past Friday (March 5).
Sony isn’t the only company in the kids market mining K-Pop’s popularity right now. In 2019, Mattel signed a global licensing agreement with BTS to launch dolls, collectible figures and games inspired by the seven-member boy band. Jazwares similarly partnered with Korean girl group Blackpink for a line of dolls, collectibles, plush and roleplay items. And Blackpink also scored its own Netflix documentary, which was released late last year.