Maggie Kang, the co-director and creator of KPop Demon Hunters, has recently clarified her stance on the possibility of a live-action version of the film. The director had previously expressed interest in seeing the property make the jump to live action. She stated, “I really enjoyed [How To Train Your Dragon]. I was sitting in the theater thinking, I wonder if anybody would want to see a live-action KPop Demon Hunters. What would that be like?” Now, it seems she has changed her mind on the idea.

In a recent interview alongside her co-director, Chris Appelhans, she said, “It’s really hard to imagine these characters in a live-action world. It would feel too grounded. So totally it wouldn’t work for me.” Chris Appelhans continued by saying:

One of the great things about animation is that you make these composites of impossibly great attributes. Rumi can be this goofy comedian and then singing and doing a spinning back-kick a second later and then freefalling through the sky. The joy of animation is how far you can push and elevate what’s possible. I remember they adapted a lot of different animes and often times, it just feels a little stilted.

The comment about live-action animes feeling stilted is particularly interesting, as Netflix themselves have tried their hand at many of those. There is some truth to his comment though, as the two most praised aspects of KPop Demon Hunters were the music and the animation, one of which would be completely lost in live-action. The film is the most popular Netflix original film of all time, and Netflix is already in discussion with Sony about a sequel. Whether it is a sequel or a remake, expect to see more of KPop Demon Hunters in the future.