Director Kim Yong Hwa is returning to the Along With the Gods franchise for a third installment, with production set to begin in the second half of 2027.
Dexter Studios announced on October 20th that Kim has selected Along With the Gods: Life and Death (literal title) as his next project. The VFX company, which worked on the first two films, will return as an investor and oversee post-production, including visual effects, digital intermediate, sound design and mixing.
Based on Joo Ho Min’s popular webtoon, the fantasy franchise became the first Korean film series to have both installments surpass 10 million admissions. Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017) drew 14.41 million moviegoers, while Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018) attracted 12.27 million, bringing the franchise’s combined admissions to more than 26.68 million.
The films also found major success overseas, becoming the two highest-grossing Korean films in Taiwan at the time. The sequel additionally set opening records for Korean films in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The third film will shift the story to Gucheon, or the Nine Heavens, a realm inhabited by souls unable to move on to the afterlife because of lingering attachments. Following the first film’s seven trials of the dead and the second installment’s exploration of the afterlife guardians’ thousand-year history, the new chapter will follow Sol, a character caught between life and death who journeys through nine worlds in search of a song left unsung.
Dexter, which used VFX in more than 90% of the scenes in the first two films, will bring the nine realms of Gucheon to the screen.
“The ‘Along With the Gods’ series was a landmark project that demonstrated how Korean VFX technology and strong intellectual property could come together to create films with broad popular appeal,” Dexter co-CEOs Kim Wook and Kang Jong Ik said.
“Once again, we will create a story and visuals that only we can deliver, bringing audiences a Korean film that combines entertainment and artistry with the potential to become a major global hit.”
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