KPop Demon Hunters’ Saja Boys discuss the film at NYCC 2026

KPop Demon Hunters’ Saja Boys are still finding new ways to explain why the Netflix film connected so widely. In a new Anime Herald roundtable recorded at New York Comic Con 2026, actor and producer Rich Ting discussed the film’s cultural impact, the group’s place in the story and the industry shift that made its Korean-pop influences feel central rather than decorative.¹

What the interview reveals

Ting said his route into the film grew from his work in talent management and his long-standing connections with Korean entertainment. He represents Andrew Choi, the singing voice of Jinu, and Neckwav, who is also associated with the Saja Boys. That gives Ting a close view of how the performers’ relationship with the film developed before its release.¹

One of the more revealing details is that some of the performers did not initially know exactly how their characters would be presented. Ting said Neckwav knew he had been cast as a pink-haired character, but did not know which one until he watched the finished film. The anecdote underlines how quickly the project moved from a recording job into a global pop-culture phenomenon.¹

The roundtable also returned to representation. Ting described an earlier period in which Asian and Asian-American performers were often asked to fit narrower roles, then contrasted that with the demand for stories and characters that feel culturally specific. His view is that KPop Demon Hunters succeeded partly because it did not sand away those details for an international audience.¹

That is a useful distinction. The film is not simply borrowing the visual language of K-pop for a fantasy adventure; its music, performers and mythology are part of the reason the characters became recognisable beyond the film itself. Netflix’s official Saja Boys song clip shows how deliberately the group was framed as a performance act as well as a supernatural threat.²

Why it matters

The interview does not announce a new KPop Demon Hunters project, and it should not be read as confirmation of a sequel or spin-off. Its value is more immediate: it captures the people behind the Saja Boys reflecting on a film whose audience expanded far beyond the expectations of its cast. Ting said the performers had no clear sense that the project would become a phenomenon, which makes the group’s later visibility feel even more striking.¹

Our opinion

The Saja Boys work because they are more than a collection of stylish antagonists. Their music and presentation give the film a believable pop identity, while the interview shows how much of that effect comes from real performers and cultural connections rather than a generic “global” aesthetic. Netflix’s decision to foreground those elements helped KPop Demon Hunters feel specific, and specificity is exactly what made the film travel.

The Anime Herald conversation is therefore a worthwhile companion to the film itself: not a new announcement, but a clearer look at the people and decisions behind one of its most memorable groups.