Latest news with #MaggieKang
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Is 'K-pop Demon Hunters' just a mashup of popular groups? Director spills the tea!
Ever since the teasers of ' K-pop Demon Hunters ' were shared online, fans from across the globe have come up with their speculations about who inspired the iconic characters of the film. Finally, director Maggie Kang is opening up about the behind-the-scenes deets of the show, from how it was made to who inspired it; she's ready to share it all! Director of 'K-pop Demon Hunters' opens up about the film Maggie Kang, the brains behind the film 'K-pop Demon Hunters', recently opened up about the much-anticipated project and shared some exclusive anecdotes about the film. In an interview with Forbes, Kang talked about how interesting it is to see fans fit their idols into the identities of the characters in the film. 'I think what I like to talk about is that there are so many certain archetypes that every group has. It's fun to see this conversation happening because everyone's picking the right member who fills that archetype and that kind of role and looks for each group,' the director shared. She detailed that while no specific group or idol played a major role in the creation of the film, her upbringing surrounded by groups like H.O.T., Seo Taiji, the Boys, etc., became a major point of influence. Kang and fellow director Appelhans opened up a digital bulletin board Kang also detailed how she and her co-director, Chris Appelhans , opened up a digital bulletin board to add their favourite K-pop stars to draw inspiration from. They then later on gave access to their art department, which brought an interesting influx of different kinds of idols and bands. Who played the inspiration behind 'The Saja Boys'? One of the focal points in the film, the demon group ' The Saja Boys ', came from an amalgamation of a number of popular K-pop groups. The characters were inspired by groups like Tomorrow X Together, BTS, Stray Kids , ATEEZ, BIGBANG, and Monsta X. She shared that while making the characters, she and her team kept in mind the basic idea surrounding the members of the group, i.e., the muscular member, the youngest member, the sweetest member, etc. While the idea of the members took inspiration from K-pop, it was the character 'Mystery' that drew inspiration from anime instead. Kang shared how she was sceptical about the character; however, her team assured her and said, 'Trust us.' Along with this, the character 'Jinu' drew inspiration from Korean actors like Cha Eun Woo and Nam Joo Hyuk , as per Kang. Inspiration behind the demon hunters 'Huntrix' The female K-pop group featured in the film, ' Huntrix ', was inspired by modern-day girl groups. Kang stated in the interview that '[We looked at] ITZY, BLACKPINK, and [TWICE]. Who else? I think it was a lot of mixing.' Model Ahn So Yeon also became a major inspiration behind creating the character of Mira in the film. The director then shared how even though all of the characters were inspired by idol groups, she worked hard on giving them all distinct and unique identifying characteristics. She shared that 'Even with the way we animated them, [they were different and distinct]. With their smile, you'll notice Zoey has more of a heart-shaped mouth when she expresses herself. We wanted Mira to be long and lean because I love that look on a woman. I think that's so beautiful. With Rumi , we leaned into a very classic, beautiful Korean look.' KPop Demon Hunters | Official Trailer | Netflix
Forbes
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘KPop Demon Hunters' Director On Getting K-Pop Culture Down
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS - (L-R) Mira (voice by MAY HONG), Rumi (voice by ARDEN CHO) and Zoey (voice by ... More JI-YOUNG YOO). ©2025 Netflix South Korea has been dominating the global pop music scene for the past few years with groups like BTS, BLACKPINK, TWICE, and Stray Kids. There have been multiple projects surrounding K-pop music, including a Broadway musical, documentaries, and several film projects. One of the projects includes Netflix's K-Pop Demon Hunters, an animated feature centered on a K-pop girl group that also serves as a team of demon hunters sworn to protect their fans from supernatural threats. Things become complicated when a popular rival boy band is revealed to be demons. Director Maggie Kang didn't expect the impact of Korean culture and K-pop, which inspired her to write this film. When she was in elementary school in Canada, her teacher couldn't locate South Korea on the map. Now, her film is set to release on Netflix and has been praised by critics and fans. 'It was surreal,' Kang says. 'Every step of the way and every milestone we hit, I can't believe we're able to do this.' She had been working on this project for over nine years, aiming to create a story that explores Korean demon mythology and lore, starring badass women. The K-pop aspect was always present, but it was the last part that was developed in the story. They had initially planned for the animation to be a lower-budget movie that was a lot grittier and darker than the final product looked. 'Rumi was going to be the black sheep of her family,' Kang explains. 'It still had the themes of shame about their worth, but there was this girl who was kinda a dropout and failure, before discovering her lineage and living up to it, proving her own self-worth within herself. It was a story with ancestors and a little bit more Asian.' Kang was informed that the project had expanded significantly, which altered the story slightly, introducing two additional characters – Mira and Zoey. She found it funny that there were three members in Huntrix, but they created five characters for the Saja Boys. 'At first, Sony was like 'Can [Rumi] just be a solo artist?',' says Kang. 'I was like, no, she needs to be part of a group.' KPOP DEMON HUNTERS - When they aren't selling out stadiums, Kpop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey use ... More their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat. Together, they must face their biggest enemy yet – an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise. ©2025 Netflix When creating a K-pop group, there's a lot to be included in the story, especially the fandom: terminology, lightsticks, photocards, shipping, fan signs, variety shows, comebacks, and more. The screenplay, written by Kang, co-director Chris Appelhans, Hannah McMechan, and Danya Jimenez (with assistance from K-pop fans and writers Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt), perfectly captured the fan culture. Kang says it was a group effort in creating this story and the culture surrounding it. She credits McMechan and Jimenez for their research on the K-pop culture aspect, and even became K-pop fans themselves. 'They became K-pop fans because of this movie,' Kang explains. 'As they were doing research, they became total stans of K-pop – to the point that they would be up at three in the morning to refresh to watch music videos and then vote on stuff.' She says they became her K-pop experts. Anytime she had a question, she would text them for the answer. She says, 'It felt like a second job to be updated on all the K-pop things. As production rolled through, Kang just ran out of time to learn about K-pop culture. So, she depended on them for the knowledge. KPOP DEMON HUNTERS - When they aren't selling out stadiums, Kpop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey use ... More their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat. Together, they must face their biggest enemy yet – an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise. ©2025 Netflix The art department also had knowledgeable K-pop fans on staff who were involved in every part of the production. At one point, there was a scene where the idols competed against each other in the Idol Star Athletics Championships, also known as ISAC. 'For people who don't know: [ISAC] is like the Olympics for Korean idols,' says Kang. 'When we cut that scene in, all the executives were like, 'What is this? Why are they suddenly doing the Olympics and running hurdles and doing archery?' That eventually became a fan signing event. But, for a very long time, they had Rumi and Jinu doing archery, as they were having that conversation.' The animation team also played its part in highlighting the Korean idols' faces. Kang says they all drew inspiration from K-dramas and had Korean animators involved in the film. 'One of the animators, Sophia [(Seung Hee) Lee], was instrumental in figuring out certain eye shapes and mouth shapes – just rounding the corners of the mouth gave it this more Korean feeling. For some reason, it was just so strange. Once we figured that out, it opened up the movie, and we were like, 'This is it. This is our look'.' Lighting was challenging for the team, as they tried to find the perfect placement for the most appealing angles and lighting. Kang recalls it being quite a journey, as well as more difficult than they expected. 'The way we lit the faces was challenging because our faces just look different,' says Kang. 'Our models look different as well. It was a challenging and different undertaking for our lighters to figure out. So, it was interesting.' KPOP DEMON HUNTERS - When they aren't selling out stadiums, Kpop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey use ... More their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat. Together, they must face their biggest enemy yet – an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise. ©2025 Netflix When it came to the K-pop music aspect, their team collaborated with THEBLACKLABEL, owned by the legendary producer Teddy Park, who has worked with K-pop's biggest names, including BIGBANG, G-DRAGON, BLACKPINK, and 2NE1. Adding to the K-pop connections, the film secured the popular K-pop girl group, TWICE, to sing the main title song, 'Takedown.' Kang and Appelhans were initially naive about how much of the music would be featured in the movie. They discussed it being a non-traditional musical, which meant that there wouldn't be a lot of singing involved in the storytelling. Things changed, and the music became an integral part of the story. 'Through the help of our executive music producer [Ian Eisendrath], who comes from a more musical background, we quickly realized some of the songs were taking up two minutes or so of screentime, they had to carry the story,' Kang says. 'It forced us to answer a lot of tricky story questions when finding the lyrics out.' They created these documents for the songwriters, detailing the scene and how the characters were feeling and why. The musicians and songwriters would then come up with music and lyrics that matched perfectly with the story, keeping it in the K-pop style. KPOP DEMON HUNTERS - When they aren't selling out stadiums, Kpop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey use ... More their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat. Together, they must face their biggest enemy yet – an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise. ©2025 Netflix Although everything seemed to fit into the K-pop world, one thing was missing: a fandom name. Kang reveals the Saja Boys fans are called the Pride, but never came up with one for Huntrix. Kang says, 'We will leave it up to the fans.' KPop Demon Hunters premieres tomorrow, Friday, June 20, on Netflix.
New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘KPop Demon Hunters' Review: Singing, Slinging and Slashing
Lest you roll your eyes and think of it as a four-quadrant-friendlier version of 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,' 'KPop Demon Hunters' immediately establishes its premise, getting any prospective scoffing out of the way. For generations, a voice-over intro explains, girl groups have used their popular songs to secretly trap hordes of demons underground and keep the world safe. The latest group on their trail? Huntrix, a K-pop girl band that, in its fight against the sinister Gwi-ma (Lee Byung-hun) and his demons, is close to completing the Golden Honmoon, a protective barrier that will permanently keep evil forces at bay. But the girl group soon faces its toughest challenge yet: a demon boy band. With that somewhat silly logline behind us, what we'll find in this Netflix animated film, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, is an original universe that is charming, funny and artfully punchy. It's a Sony Pictures Animation film that shares a kind of lineage with the studio's recent hit 'Spider-Verse' franchise that is most apparent in the similar visual style. But otherwise what it borrows mostly is a more holistic and technical sense of the cinematic, a philosophy of approach that is rare in big-budget animation films. The action sequences are fluid and immersive, the art is frequently striking and the music (catchy, if formulaic earworms) is a properly wielded and dynamic storytelling tool. And as for the cheesy girl group vs. boy band story, Kang and Appelhans have a sly sense of humor about it all, too; the movie is funniest when it pokes at pop culture that is highly manufactured, from K-pop to K-dramas to mass-produced singing competitions — the very things the film itself would never stoop to. Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. Watch on Netflix.
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘KPop Demon Hunters' Is a Hilarious, Kaleidoscopic, Monster-Hunting Bop
In an era where K-pop music groups have undeniably become a dominant force in the global music scene, Sony Pictures Animation's latest film, KPop Demon Hunters, does more than ride the wave of this craze. It cleverly presents the phenomenon in an action-packed animated film that serves as a gateway for parents who are curious about why their kids are so enamored with synchronized choreography. What's more, the movie demystifies the idols, portraying them as regular people, and weaves a touching story about acceptance while incorporating tons of flashy dance and fight breaks along the way. KPop Demon Hunters, co-directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, is a movie that could be summed up very easily by its title. Thankfully, the film has more to offer than what it lampshades on its proverbial tin. It follows follows Huntrix, a girl group built around the friendship of its three members: Mira (May Hong), the sardonic punk-girl lead dancer; Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), the bubbly, little sister-coded rapper; and Rumi (Arden Cho), the workaholic lead singer who is the heart of the group. While the trio top the charts to their army of adoring fans, Huntrix moonlights as demon hunters, protecting their adoring public from things that go bump in the night. In concert with films of its ilk that came before it, like Turning Red and, surprisingly, Sinners, KPop Demon Hunters explores music as both a haven and a form of emotional expression through its musical elements. But unlike those films, KPop Demon Hunters leans heavily into the magical girl anime aesthetic—think Sailor Moon (or, for real ones out there, Winx Club and Totally Spies!) meets Twice—where the members aren't just deified performers; they moonlight as warriors protecting humanity from demonic threats as the latest iteration on a generations-long line of singers who protect humanity with the power of song. All the while, their dazzling stage presence and catchy tunes manifest in a healing shield they magically enmesh the world in; the more popular and resonant their songs are with fans, the more they serve to create the legendary golden honmoon. This golden, shimmering shield keeps demons under the command of a dark entity called Gwi-Ma (Squid Game's Lee Byun-hun) from opening rifts in the world forever. While all of the above is a lot to take in conceptually, KPop Demon Hunters doesn't get bogged down in a year-one-esque tale of their heroic exploits, exposing the ins and outs of their heroic mission. The moment the film opens, the girls are established as both a veteran K-pop group and demon hunters, confidently handling the hijacking of their private plane by shapeshifting demons en route to their big concert. What's more, Huntrix kick ass while serving a live performance about how much ass they're kicking with the same kinetic energy and sonic flair as a Riot Games' K/DA—catchy, visually dazzling, and undeniably stylish—before they skydive into the stadium below to regale their adoring fans with the opener for their show. With the girls on the precipice of achieving a golden honmoon, Gwi-Ma concocts a plan to undo the girl group's meteoric rise in popularity: Saja Boys, a rival demon boy group led by Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop), who plan on taking down Huntrix by hitting them where it hurts the most, by poaching their fans. The obvious bar that KPop Demon Hunters sets for itself is to deliver a film worthy of its distinction as the follow-up to Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Verse success, where both its songs and action are exceptional. The animation team at Sony Pictures Animation didn't skimp, delivering yet another visual treat with decadent and vibrant animation. Most notably, KPop Demon Hunters' character designs are bold and expressive, filled with off-model gags and chibi-like moments that add texture to its idol protagonists, allowing them to shed their near-mythic personas and become the kind of approachable girls with gremlin-like tendencies that anyone would want to hang out with. Alongside the phenomenal voice work of its main cast, who display an uncanny sense of comedic timing that matches the film's fluid action, KPop Demon Hunters adds another layer of authenticity to its musicality. This is showcased by the girl group's diss track, 'Takedown,' performed by Jeongyon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of Twice. This song, along with other catchy tracks from Huntrix and Saja Boys, demonstrates that the musical efforts are not just standard fare. In conjunction with the attention to detail in the rival group's stunning sequences, wardrobe, and rhythmic choreography, the film's musicality ensures that the songs are so catchy that even the most reluctant K-pop critic would find themselves bobbing their head and humming along to the chorus. While the main crux of the film sees Saja Boys and Huntrix battle over the affection of fans, KPop Demon Hunters sidesteps a basic 'battle of the bands' set up by introducing an intriguing early twist. Rather than facing their rivals one on one, Huntrix finds itself embroiled in a deeper struggle beyond the grueling media tours. The film's emotional core, like with the group itself, centers on Rumi whose journey to superstardom takes an unexpected turn when she loses her voice. What could have been a predictable obstacle turns into the film's most compelling arc, forcing her to confront her own identity beyond her talent as a songstress and demon hunter. While the film does bring its conflicts and big ideas to a resolution, its ending feels overly convenient, so neatly tied up that it loses some of the depth that its setup promised. There's a twinge of missed potential here, as intriguing plot threads, particularly those tied to Rumi's journey of self-discovery and Juni's backstory, are prematurely trimmed rather than fully explored. The film could have benefited from a longer runtime, allowing for a more layered conclusion instead of opting for a simplistic 'day is saved' wrap-up. The film cheekily has its cake and eats it too by calling attention to this with quips from Mira and Zoey. As a result, KPop Demon Hunters' final act, while functional, rings a bit hollow. Putting aside any complaints about its somewhat rush-job wrap-up finale, KPop Demon Hunters is an animated film that boldly embraces its over-the-top premise and approaches a powerful message of acceptance. With high-energy fight sequences and moments of genuine hilarity, KPop Demon Hunters never loses sight of the magic that makes animation and idol culture so irresistibly fun. Sony Pictures Animation continues to establish itself as a leader in Western animation. Much like Tsuburaya Productions and Industrial Light & Magic's 3D CG animated film, Ultraman Rising, which elevates a familiar premise while celebrating Asian heritage at its core, KPop Demon Hunters reinforces Sony Animation Studio's reputation for creating visually stunning, genre-blending spectacles. KPop Demon Hunters will be released on Netflix June 20.
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘KPop Demon Hunters' Director Reveals Who Inspired The Characters
When Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters teaser trailer and images were first released, many K-pop fans began speculating who the K-pop idols in the film looked like. There have been several side-by-side comparisons, with fandoms claiming that these characters were based on their idols. Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters, out this Friday, revolves around a K-pop girl group named Huntrix, who are also demon hunters sworn to protect their fans from supernatural threats. Things become complicated when a popular rival boy band, The Saja Boys, are revealed to be demons. Director Maggie Kang, who grew up loving the first generation of K-pop, with groups like H.O.T. and Seo Taiji and the Boys, has seen all the comparisons on social media. Though she never named exactly who the characters were inspired by, she could see how the fans' suggestions matched perfectly with the characters. 'I think what I like to talk about is that there are so many certain archetypes that every group has,' says Kang. 'It's fun to see this conversation happening because everyone's picking the right member who fills that archetype and that kind of role and looks for each group.' Kang and her directing partner, Chris Appelhans, pulled their favorites onto the digital bulletin board. Many in the art department added their favorites to the board. She says once she gave the department access to the bulletin board, everybody was on it. She saw so many different actors, idols, and groups on there. The Saja Boys, comprising members Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop), Abby, Mystery, Romance, and Baby, were inspired by Korean groups such as Tomorrow X Together, BTS, Stray Kids, ATEEZ, BIGBANG, and Monsta X. There's always a muscular one who shows off their abs; one who was the romantic type ('I purposely gave him these bangs that were meant to be heart-shaped'); and, the baby of the group. 'Baby Saja is, obviously, the maknae (youngest),' Kang explains. '[They] have this look and they're usually the rapper of the group.' The only member whom Kang couldn't recall comparing to an artist was Mystery, whose face is mostly obscured by his long, purple hair. He was inspired by anime. When Kang asked her team why he doesn't have a face, they told her to 'trust us.' 'That's just a question mark,' Kang laughs. 'It was also just a challenge to animate five faces versus four. So that also helped with the animation as well.' Kang and her animation team created boards for each character, alongside images of idols, models, and well-known actors. Though the Saja boys were given their own individual, distinct looks, they all have one thing in common. 'Fun fact: they all share the same CG body, except for Abby Saja, because he's a little bit bigger,' Kang explains. 'We bulked him up like 20%.' Kang did admit that the character of Jinu was inspired mainly by K-drama actors. She names Cha Eun-woo and Nam Joo-hyuk as the leading men on the inspiration boards. They wanted him to have a very classic Korean look, which is why he had dark hair. Though Ahn was cast as the voice of Jinu, the character was created before he signed on for the part, but Kang does see the similarities with his Business Proposal character. As for the three members of Huntrix – Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, Kang says they referenced K-pop idols and models. Kang has worked on Rumi for many years, but her appearance has changed slightly to reflect the animation and Korean lighting. '[We looked at] ITZY, BLACKPINK, and [TWICE],' says Kang. 'Who else? I think it was a lot of mixing.' Kang reveals that Korean model Ahn So Yeon inspired the fashion-forward character, Mira. Kang, who is a fan of the model, says it 'might be kind of obvious [when you look at Mira]'. For Zoey, Kang wanted a cutesy vibe for the character. Many K–pop idols were referenced for her look. Kang's main goal for Huntrx was that they all looked very different from each other. She focused on each of them having their distinct look, aside from their hair color. 'Even with the way we animated them, [they were different and distinct],' says Kang. 'With their smile, you'll notice Zoey has more of a heart-shaped mouth when she expresses herself. We wanted Mira to be long and lean because I love that look on a woman. I think that's so beautiful. With Rumi, we leaned into a very classic, beautiful Korean look.' Kang does enjoy the conversations surrounding the animated looks of her characters. She jokes, 'Yeah, we knew we [wanted them to be] hot.' KPop Demon Hunters premieres this Friday on Netflix.
