Hollywood jumps on the K-pop bandwagon, with help of Rebel Wilson and Will Yun Lee, as it looks to benefit from the music’s global fandom

New K-pop-related productions include Disney-Pixar movie Turning Red, which features a five-member boy band inspired by K-pop acts like BigBang and 2PM

Others in the pipeline are Seoul Girls, which will be directed by Australian actress Rebel Wilson, and a drama from Korean-American actor Will Yun Lee

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The Disney-Pixar animated film Turning Red features a five-member boy band inspired by K-pop acts like BigBang and 2PM. Photo: Disney-Pixar

Published: 5:15pm, 19 Mar 2022

By Dong Sun-hwa

As K-pop revs up its global presence, a growing number of creators in Hollywood are climbing on the bandwagon to produce more K-pop-inspired content.

The popular Disney-Pixar film Turning Red, which hit streaming platform Disney+ on March 11, features a five-member boy band inspired by K-pop acts like BigBang and 2PM. “4★Town,” the fictional group in the movie, also includes a Korean member named Taeyoung.

“4★Town is based on the groups like BigBang and 2PM that I loved when I was a student,” director Domee Shi said.

Turning Red is a coming-of-age movie revolving around Chinese Canadian girl Meilin Mei Lee, who becomes a giant red panda whenever she gets too excited.

According to streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol, Turning Red has been dominating Disney+’s daily top 10 rankings in numerous countries, including Korea and the US, since its premiere.

Sony Pictures Animation is also planning to produce a K-pop-inspired animated film, K-Pop: Demon Hunters, in cooperation with Korean American director Maggie Kang, who was behind the success of The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017). The upcoming movie will follow female K-pop stars who fight against evil forces when they are offstage.

“K-Pop: Demon Hunters is my love letter to K-pop and my Korean roots,” Kang told US entertainment outlet Variety. “It encompasses and celebrates everything K-pop is.”

Korean American actor Will Yun Lee is also slated to birth a new drama telling the story of a Korean-American woman who develops love and friendship with the members of a K-pop boy band after landing a job at a Korean record label.

Will Yun Lee is behind a new drama about a Korean American woman who develops love and friendship with the members of a K-pop boy band. Photo: Getty Images

The series will be based on the popular novel My Summer in Seoul, written by Rachel Van Dyken. Another creation in the pipeline is Seoul Girls, which will be directed by Australian actress Rebel Wilson.

The star of the popular 2019 Netflix romcom Isn’t It Romantic will make her directorial debut with the upcoming comedy movie that will recount the story of a Korean American high school student and her friends who take part in an audition to become the opening act for a popular K-pop boy band.

In 2023, Korean entertainment behemoth CJ ENM will release the film K-Pop: Lost in America, helmed by award-winning Hollywood producer Lynda Obst and Korean director Yoon Je-kyoon, who is best known for his 2009 blockbuster Haeundae.

Seoul Girls will be directed by Australian actress Rebel Wilson. Photo: IG @rebelwilson

The movie will centre on a K-pop boy band that mistakenly lands in Texas only two days before making their global debut in New York.