Ryan O’Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided’s CubbiesCrib. Whether it’s taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what’s going on. Outside of entertainment, he’s a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor’s in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.
Even in the middle of a blockbuster summer headlined by Superman, last year saw Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation’s KPop Demon Hunters steal the spotlight. Co-writers and directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans created a real crowdpleaser, telling an age-old story of shame and acceptance, soaked in K-pop culture and personal flair with chart-topping songs that have transcended the bounds of the film. Despite some underlying darkness in Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey’s (Ji-young Yoo) fight against the forces of the demonic ruler Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun), the final result was a light, action-packed adventure, ending with the idols winning the day. However, the trio behind HUNTR/X believes there’s room to lean into the film’s darker implications and history with the sequel.
Cho, Hong, and Yoo sat down with Collider’s Taylor Gates for a larger profile, where they went deep on their breakout hit. In particular, they discussed the ending of HUNTR/X’s first outing and what they’d like to see in the future of KPop Demon Hunters. It’ll be a while before the K-pop super group returns to the screen, as the sequel is tentatively expected to be released in 2029, but that hasn’t stopped them from speculating about what awaits them after defeating the Saja Boys and driving back the demons. Although a new Honmoon is created to reseal Gwi-Ma, Cho notes that there’s still so much left unaddressed, particularly when it comes to Rumi’s relationship with her mentor, Celine (Yunjin Kim).
“It’s not really a bowtied happy ending. Sure, the Honmoon is sealed, the world is safe, the demons are gone, but does Celine accept Rumi? We don’t know. Does she have a family? We don’t know. But we do know she has her girls; she has her friends.”
As the ending also showed, nothing can get in the way of the tight-knit bond between HUNTR/X, but Cho also wondered if the sequel could explore other potential bonds not seen yet. She’s especially curious if there are any other half-demons like Rumi that the singer could meet and share her experience with. “In our world of KPop Demon Hunters, we think she’s the only one, but she can’t possibly be.”
Arden Cho Learned More About ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Through Auditioning for Celine
Cho had a bit more insight into the background of KPop’s characters and where the story could be heading before she ever stepped into the booth as Rumi. Initially, she was in line to play a different role than the group’s lead vocalist, and it wasn’t any of the other members. “I am probably the only one that didn’t read for Mira and Zoe or Rumi,” she revealed. “Initially. I read for Celine.” Spending time learning intimately about Celine helped her figure out how to characterize Rumi, too, by learning more about the nature of their bond as mother and adoptive daughter. She teased that there’s something more to the pair that she can’t discuss, but Celine reminded her of a more traditional, conservative Korean parent, trying to protect Rumi in her own way.
“When I got the audition back in August 2022, I did a voice note, and I remember sending one voice note of Celine’s lines, and I pitched my voice as low as I could to be as mature adult mom as I could. I thought I did a pretty good job. And then, a year later, I got the call back for Rumi… I can’t share too much because of the NDA, but I feel like, what I can safely say is, when I auditioned for Celine, I was given some information that I think was helpful to understand Rumi later. Fans have all interpreted what we see of Rumi and her relationship with Celine in the movie in very different ways and made it more personal. For me, I feel like her relationship with Celine felt like something I really understood, culturally, as a Korean American, being first generation and having Korean parents who are very sort of traditional and conservative. When Celine tells Rumi, ‘No, you have to hide. You can’t let them see,’ for me, that was not just about her patterns — it was about everything. ‘You have to be perfect. You have to be this way.’ I feel like that’s sort of what we hear so often as Korean Americans — or any immigrant family, as I’ve learned throughout this movie, meeting so many wonderful people who’ve also connected with it and found so much healing from the movie.”
Related How Netflix’s Oscar-Nominated ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Made Its Speaking Trio the Voices of a Phenomenon
Ji-young Yoo, May Hong, and Arden Cho reveal how their personal backgrounds and identities allowed them to connect deeply with their roles.
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While Celine’s actions nearly caused a rift in the band and instilled that feeling of shame in Rumi about her patterns, Cho argues that her mistakes come out of a place of love and a genuine effort to do her best for Rumi. She further says that her backstory further illustrates that, even though she can’t yet open up about where Celine is coming from. Knowing everything both characters have been through put her in a position to empathize with both sides. It also opens the door for a deeper exploration of Celine when the sequel inevitably arrives.
“It’s interesting because so many people experience love in a way that can actually be traumatizing. I don’t think anyone does it to hurt you, because there’s no rule book or guidelines for parents. They’re just trying to love and protect you in the way that they know best. Celine was just doing her best. And from what I know of Celine, she really did do her best. Yes, mistakes were made, and maybe not the best choices were made, but again, because of the backstory that I know, I was like, ‘Oh, okay. Interesting. I kind of understand where that’s coming from, but I 100% understand and empathize with Rumi also, being like, ‘This is not fair. This is not right, and you’ve pushed me to this point.’ In a very odd way, I felt like Rumi’s story paralleled a lot with my life and my journey as an Asian American artist or a Korean American person, just being in this business.”
‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Stars Have ‘Andor’-Like Ideas for a Prequel
A sequel digging deeper into the complicated relationship between Rumi and Celine could certainly go to more mature places than even the first film touched on, but the world also sets up the possibility of going back and exploring past generations of demon hunters. That had Yoo and Hong thinking about how to weave real history into KPop Demon Hunters. While both Cho and Hong loved the idea of an early 2000s-set feature, Yoo said she wanted to go back to the Great Joseon dynasty or even further. “I love Pansori, the traditional Korean singing,” she added. “Ejae does her spin on that in the intro to the movie when you hear her almost wailing vocal, so I would love to see ancient dynastic Korea.”
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Her darkest idea, however, involves going back to Korea under Japanese rule from 1910 through the end of World War II. It marked a period of assimilation, as Japan banned the use of Korean names and language, instilled discriminatory practices and taxation against native Koreans, and killed citizens en masse when they attempted to resist. Yoo admits it’s not exactly the best material on its face for a film meant for all ages, but it’s nonetheless a subject she’s interested in that would make for a movie akin to a certain smash hit Star Wars series:
“I’m really fascinated by the period from about the late 1800s to 1945, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. I don’t know if that would be like a family movie — I think it would be a very, very serious movie — but I would be very tuned in for that era of KPop Demon Hunters. That would be our Andor.”
KPop Demon Hunters is now streaming on Netflix, and you can read Gates’ full profile with the stars now. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the upcoming sequel as more updates come out.
8 10 KPop Demon Hunters Like Follow Followed PG Animation Fantasy Action Comedy Music Family Release Date June 20, 2025 Runtime 96 minutes Director Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang 8 Images Close Cast See All Arden Cho Rumi (voice) May Hong Mira (voice) Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming
Writers Hannah McMechan, Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang, Danya Jimenez Producers Michelle Wong Powered by Expand Collapse
