What is the update on Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse?
Not too much has been revealed about Sony Pictures Animation‘s third Spider-Man at this point in time; however, a recent update reveals that this movie will be making a big change from the first two.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Sony’s Kristine Belson and Damien de Froberville said that, for the first time in the franchise, they’ve brought a live-action DP, Alice Brooks, to direct the camera in a way the franchise hasn’t done before.
Belson said when asked if working on Beyond the Spider-Verse was as “straining” for animators as the reported work conditions of Across the Spider-Verse, “Nobody has to work on a show they don’t want to work on. Even though you’ll hear — whether it’s Spider-Verse or other shows — that people go through these really difficult crunch times, everybody wants to be on the most ambitious and most exciting shows.”
De Froberville added, “We made some changes to the pipeline to, not avoid — because Chris and Phil are always going to iterate late — but to lessen the amount of iteration on the back end. We brought on a live-action DP, Alice Brooks. She’s been directing camera in a way that we hadn’t done on Spider-Verse before. We’re in animation on Spider-Verse now. Because the directors and Chris and Phil have a chance to iterate so much early on while we’re in story, and truly visualize what it’s going look like by the time those sequences flow into the Imageworks pipeline, there’s way less changes.”
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is currently expected to be released on June 18, 2027, in the United States.
Originally reported by Brandon Schreur at SuperHeroHype.
You’ve asked for months, and now Netflix is giving it to you: an art book for KPop Demon Huntersis here!…and also coming soon.
On Friday, the streamer released a 142-page digital book containing the film’s artwork, segmented in different chapters covering the movie from start to finish. (The website also plays tunes from the movie, including “Golden” and “What It Sounds Like.”) Some of the pieces featured may look familiar—artists Ami Thompson and Celine Dahyeu Kim have posted several of their contributions since the film came out—and others are brand new, with pages containing insight from staff like visual development artist Won Sul Hyun and character designer Euni Cho.
With its digital art book, KPop Demon Hunters follows suit from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchiomovie, which also got one as part of the film’s awards run. We know Netflix would like for KPop take home an Oscar or two, and supplemental material like this helps get the attention of Oscar voters. (Not that it really needs it, since the singers for Huntr/x just performed at Macy’s parade during Thanksgiving.) The book’s also the latest extension of the film’s ongoing presence, eventually followed by Mattel dolls and a Secret Lair drop in Magic: The Gathering. And of course, the sequel hitting Netflix in 2029…hopefully.
You can go here for the KPop Demon Hunters art book, with a physical version coming sometime in 2026.
Following the massive success of KPop Demon Hunters, Netflix is once again collaborating with Sony Pictures Animation to develop the sequel to 2021’s acclaimed sci-fi comedy The Mitchells vs. the Machines. The movie was a critical success with a Certified Fresh score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 94th Academy Awards.
What do we know about Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines 2?
According to Variety, Guillermo Martinez and JP Sans have been tapped to helm The Mitchells vs. the Machines 2, which is being written by Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin. Martinez previously worked on the first installment as the head of story. The upcoming animated sequel will serve as his feature directorial debut. Interestingly, Martinez also previously worked as a story artist on KPop Demon Hunters.
The original movie’s director Mike Rianda, and Aditya Sood have signed on as executive producers, while Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Kurt Albrecht are set to produce the movie. Netflix is planning to start the sequel’s production in early 2026. Just like the first installment, the streamer will be distributing the movie as part of a licensing agreement with Sony.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines featured the voices of Abbi Jacobson as Katie Mitchell, Danny McBride as Rick Mitchell, Maya Rudolph as Linda Mitchell, Rianda as Aaron, Eric Andre as tech inventor Mark Bowman, and Olivia Colman as a Siri-like voice assistant called PAL. The story centered around young Katie Mitchell, who embarks on a road trip with her parents and younger brother after they insist on accompanying her to college. However, their trip is cut short when the world is suddenly taken over by electronic devices that have come to life to stage an uprising.
The future of KPop Demon Hunters as a franchise remains unclear even as the massive Netflix hit acquired from Sony Pictures Animation continues to dominate pop culture. The fandom, of course, expects a sequel—and it’s already abuzz with what’s next for Rumi, Zoey, and Mira and their destiny to keep the Honmoon sealed from the demon world.
Here are just some of the things we’d love to see explored in an eventual (and probably inevitable) KPop Demon Hunters 2.
The mythology of the Demon Hunter lore goes deep if there was always a trio of singers holding the Honmoon down. It would be so cool to explore spinoffs of different eras through a series or anthology of shorts (think Star Wars: Visions) that jumps around time periods and perhaps other countries.
I’m interested in learning if other cultures also have music magic wielders and how demons might work through commercial music to try to gain control. I want to learn about other bands, maybe in short-form spin-offs, to set up new characters for the future. There are so many possibilities!
Rumi being the love child of a demon and a hunter is an origin story we want to see. It’s perfect for a prequel or somehow pulling a Godfather 2 with dual timelines arcing into how that informs Rumi’s destiny.
Perhaps we could glimpse her father’s and mother’s past as they meet in the present to further the complexities of good vs. evil between the demons and the humans. If Jinu could be a good-guy demon, maybe Rumi’s father was too. There was so much left unanswered by Celine (Rumi’s guardian); we don’t really know what happened to her parents or how they were dealt with by Gwi-ma and the other good guys.
Theories have abounded about Rumi being related to Gwi-ma, but being his daughter directly seems unlikely—maybe his granddaughter? Would that be too Star Wars-y? It would be best if Rumi’s lineage was explored without her having to be a product of pure good and pure evil.
Usually we think characters should stay dead but not this man. Our boy Jinu deserves a second chance. His sacrifice was huge so we’d like to see him return in some way. A popular theory online is that he’s trapped in Rumi’s sword, which would make sense as he gave her his soul and became a part of the prism Honmoon. Plus, if Derpy and Sussie are still around, they might be able to find him through their connection to pull him out of a backdoor of sorts. Maybe he’s human again but doesn’t remember who he was? We want the drama and to have him earn his way back to Rumi; that’s both fulfilling and romantic. We don’t need any more tragic star-crossed lovers; that could have been Rumi’s parents story but it doesn’t have to be hers.
And speaking of bringing back characters, maybe let’s give the Saja Boys a chance at redemption too. It would be nice to see them come back as comedic relief and try to do good while making more good music. We miss Baby and Abby. Perhaps they can team up with Huntr/x to defeat a bigger threat. Also, more Derpy and Sussie always and forever, please.
As someone who wished there was a Powerline album out of A Goofy Movie and who excitedly bought that special edition Josie and the Pussycats (2001) vinyl, I cannot stress enough that we need a whole Huntr/x album. Songwriter EJAE (who does the singing voice for Rumi), along with voice cast singers Audrey Nuna (Mira) and Rei Ami (Zoey), will soon be performing awards-season contender “Golden” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which feels like a test run for a real-life Huntr/x and more music, we hope.
Huntr/x could really do a whole sequel companion album—that would be so meta! The future of Huntr/x feels unlimited because we’d be seated to see a sequel movie in a theater or at home and go to the official tour with Huntr/x light sticks in hand. Do it for the fans!
Picture it: Huntr/x is the main band we follow as the sequel introduces a bigger global threat that’s connected to Rumi’s family. Who you gonna call? A story along these lines could bring in other Demon Hunters for an Avengers-style team-up from around the world that’s part world song contest (like Eurovision) and part Mortal Kombat.
Maybe the latter might be too extreme for the world of KPop Demon Hunters but the baddies have to be vanquished somehow. And these potential team-ups can be characters introduced through friendly competition in the sequel, with their side stories featured in an anthology leading up to a third film where it all comes together.
Netflix hit KPop Demon Huntershas stayed in the conversation in large part because of its blockbuster soundtrack, but now one of those songs has come under scrutiny for potentially getting an assist from ChatGPT.
In a recent discussion in Seoul for OpenAI’s newly opened Korean office, songwriter Vince reportedly claimed he used the controversial technology to help pen the song “Soda Pop,” performed in the movie by the demonic Saja Boys. He is credited as one of several co-writers on the track, according to a Netflix blog post.
A now-deleted tweet (preserved in a screengrab on Reddit) said to be penned by an OpenAI exec read: “Fav moment from the launch celebration was hearing singer/songwriter Vince share that ChatGPT helped him write ‘Soda Pop’ from KPop Demon Hunters! It apparently gave him ideas to make it sound ‘more bubbly.’”
Here’s where things get complicated. The alleged use of AI to help write “Soda Pop” was first reported in the English-language version of Joongang Daily—but the original Korean text of the article makes no mention of ChatGPT being used specifically during the production of KPop Demon Hunters’ music.
A translator on Gizmodo’s staff revealed Vince instead made a far broader statement—”I sometimes use ChatGPT to get some inspiration while producing K-Pop”—while discussing how AI technology is already being used in the K-Pop industry.
As Kotaku has pointed out, KPop Demon Hunters has previously had to fend off allegations surrounding its characters being made with AI. Rei Ami, one of the singers for the movie’s girl group Huntr/x, has also had to insist that she and co-singers Ejae and Audrey Nuna are real human beings.
io9 has reached out to Netflix for clarification and will update should we hear back.
After growing popularity and fan demand, KPop Demon Hunterscame to theaters across North America this weekend. And in what’s surely a shock, the film might manage to take the top spot in the box office and give Netflix something else to brag about.
Per the Hollywood Reporter, the KPop singalong screenings is looking to earn $18-20 million domestic before the weekend is out. That number comes courtesy of exhibition sources and “rival studios,” since Netflix doesn’t report numbers when its movies hit theaters. But should KPop hit that range (or exceeds it), this would mark the first time a movie from the streamer hit #1 on the big screen. Of the big North American theater chains, AMC is the only one not playing it, and around 1,150 of its 1,700 showings sold out earlier in the week.
Netflix has always had a rocky relationship with theaters, which has gained greater scrutiny recently. Earlier in August, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer announced they were moving to Paramount in April 2026 to make theatrical movies—said to be a huge factor in their decision—and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankensteinwill hit the big screen in October. People who’ve watched KPop Demon Hunters at home have come away from it thinking it could’ve been a hit in theaters, and this two-day screening proves them right a little bit. At time of writing, it’s unknown if Netflix will allow for more screenings closer to Oscar season, or even extend it to other countries, but it looks like there’s no stopping KPop Demon Hunters’ momentum for the forseeable future.
