Solo Leveling is officially getting the live-action treatment on Netflix, with the streaming giant confirming that rising star Byeon Woo-seok will take on the lead role of Sung Jinwoo in a new Korean series. They also shared a photo of the actor, along with the main staff.
Byeon Woo-seok is known for his roles in 20th Century Girl and Lovely Runner. Netflix also shares that his nickname is “만찢남,” which means “straight out of a manhwa (comic).” The series will be co-directed by Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo, who previously worked on films including Ashfall, Like a Virgin, Castaway on the Moon, My Dictator and Cold Eyes. Kakao Entertainment and SANAI PICTURES will be producing.
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Kakao Entertainment had previously confirmed a live-action series was in production, with scriptwriting and planning said to be underway. In addition, it was reported in 2021 that there was a US-produced drama was in development as well.
In regards to the US drama, it was said that talks with several studios in the US were underway to produce it and air it via an over-the-top (OTT) service. An OTT service is basically a streaming platform, such as Netflix, Amazon Video Prime, Hulu, etc. The article back then also mentioned that Warner Brothers had an interest in the production, but no studios have been named.
About Solo Leveling
The story began as a web novel titled Only I Level Up (나 혼자만 레벨업), written by Chugong (a pseudonym). It was serialized digitally starting in 2016 on the Korean platform KakaoPage.
In 2018, the novel was adapted into a webtoon (a digital comic format optimized for mobile reading) by REDICE Studio, a South Korean studio known for high-quality manhwa (Korean comics). The webtoon’s art was drawn by Jang Sung-rak, better known by his pen name DUBU.
The script was initially adapted to the webtoon format by Gi So-Ryeong (2018–2019), while h-goon took over from 2019 up until its end in 2023. Tragically, DUBU passed away in July 2022 due to chronic health issues.
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The Solo Leveling anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures is based on the webtoon. Season 1 ran for 12 episodes from January to April 2024, with the main staff consisting of Shunsuke Nakashige as the director, Tomoko Sudo as the character designer, Hiroyuki Sawano as the music composer, and Noboru Kimura in charge on the series composition.
Solo Leveling Season 2: Arise From the Shadow then ran for 13 episodes from January to March 2025, overtaking ONE PIECE to become the most-rated anime on Crunchyroll along the way.
Source: Netflix Official X
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