Fans of popular South Korean webtoon — or manhwa, as it’s otherwise called — Solo Leveling are in for a good time. In addition to an anime adaptation due for 2024, it will also reportedly get the live-action treatment.
The news comes from D&C Webtoon’s creative director Kwak Heaeun, who dropped the information in an interview with French newspaper Linternaute. “And I can give you a scoop, a Korean drama based on Solo Leveling is currently in the works, so stay tuned,” he said.
D&C is the Korean publisher that owns the rights to the best-selling web comic, and the current leader in the South Korean market for works relating to the fantasy and martial arts genres. No other information about the Solo Leveling live-action project, such as a release date or potential cast, were announced.
Solo Leveling began as a web novel series written under the Korean pseudonym of Chugong in 2016, and was later adapted into a manhwa illustrated by the late Korean artist DUBU in 2018. It has gained millions of fans over the course of its serialisation, and ended its run in December 2021.
A-1 Pictures, whose portfolio includes The Seven Deadly Sins, Sword Art Online, and Your Lie in April, is working on the anime. Crunchyroll will stream the series, describing it as such:
“It’s been over a decade since the sudden appearance of the “gates”—the paths that connect our world with a different dimension. Since then, certain humans have awakened to supernatural powers. We call these individuals “hunters.” Hunters make their living by using their powers to conquer dungeons inside the gates. In this world of tough customers, the low-ranked hunter Jinwoo Sung is known as “the weakest hunter of all mankind.” One day, Jinwoo gets fatally injured when he runs into high-rank double dungeons hidden within a low-rank dungeon. Just then, a mysterious quest window appears in front of him. On the verge of death, Jinwoo decides to accept the quest and starts leveling up… while the others aren’t.“
Beyond the anime, Solo Leveling also received a spin-off webtoon titled Solo Leveling: Ragnarok on 10 April this year. It follows Sung Suho, the son of Jinwoo, on his adventures as a Hunter.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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