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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider 'KPop Demon Hunters' creator Maggie Kang makes it to TIME100 Next's most influential rising stars list

'KPop Demon Hunters' creator Maggie Kang makes it to TIME100 Next's most influential rising stars list

Published Oct 1, 2025 11:58 am
Maggie Kang (Photo from Korea's Office of the President website)
Maggie Kang (Photo from Korea's Office of the President website)

Maggie Kang, the Korean-Canadian co-director and creator of the hit animated film “KPop Demon Hunters,” has been named one of TIME100 Next’s “World’s Most Influential Rising Stars.” 

The TIME100 is Time's “list of the globe’s most influential people, first released 22 years ago—as a lens to better understand our world, and to guide TIME in our role as a key chronicler of leadership,” according to Time.com.

Kang’s popularity soared through “KPop Demon Hunters,” which topped Netflix’s weekly Global Top 10 of the most watched films and shows. 

Her description in the TIME100 Next list, written by American actor Daniel Dae Kim, stated that “Maggie Kang makes magic.” 

“But like most magic, the illusions seem easy only because of the hard work that goes into making them look that way. In Maggie’s case, it wasn’t only the months it took to tape actors like me for her record-­setting 2025 film, KPop Demon Hunters, but also the seven years she spent creating and developing it. That’s not even to mention the more than a decade she’s spent honing her craft, from positions on the lowest rung of the ladder to where she is today,” wrote Kim. 

He added, “I’ve heard some say this movie came ‘out of nowhere,’ but for visionaries like Maggie, it’s hardly the case. She knew exactly where it was coming from right from the start: great storytelling imbued with a spirit of love and hope, as well as empowerment for a whole new generation. In creating strong Asian female super­heroes for our screens, she’s done something even more remarkable in the process. She’s become one herself.”

The TIME100 Next’s “World’s Most Influential Rising Stars” list includes artists, phenoms, innovators, leaders and advocates. 

ARTISTS

Jonathan  Bailey

Tramell Tillman 

Teyana Taylor 

Monica  Barbaro

Miles Caton 

Helen J Shen 

Becky G

Megan Stalter 

Manny Jacinto 

Gracie Abrams

Ocean Vuong 

Lainey Wilson 

Kara Young 

Jack Quaid

Damson Idris 

Ali  Hazelwood 

Toyin Ojih Odutola

Lina Ghotmeh 

PHENOMS

Tate  McRae

Lola Tung

David Corenswet 

Taylor Fritz

Nico  Parker

Meghann  Fahy 

Paige Bueckers 

Kaitlyn  Dever

Jeeno Thitikul 

Kartik  Kumra

Phoebe Gates and Sophia  Kianni 

Fuerza  Regida 

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Allison  Ellsworth

Cristóbal Valenzuela 

Shreya  Murthy

Wang  Ning 

INNOVATORS

Rema 

Sanaz Toossi

Ben  Lamm 

GloRilla

Lamine Yamal 

Maggie  Kang 

Brandon Sorbom and  Bob Mumgaard 

Ashleigh Shanti

Susan Clark 

Sabin  Nsanzimana 

Tracy  Malechek-Ezekiel and  Arjav  Ezekiel 

Susan  Bullman 

Andrew  Miller

Tadáskía

Laney Crowell 

Fatoumata  Ba

Lalit  Keshre

Ray Allensworth 

Thibaud  Hug de  Larauze 

LEADERS

April  Koh

Kristrun  Frostadottir

Dara  Eskridge 

Ruben Gallego

Karoline  Leavitt

Hana-Rawhiti  Maipi-Clarke 

Erika  Kirk

Vico Sotto

Irfaan Ali 

Bari Weiss

Emma Theofelus

Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut 

Issa Amro 

Sara Ziff

Brandon Scott 

Byron  Donalds

Katey  Rusch and Casey Smith

Gabriel Galípolo 

Neil Vora

Alex  Bruesewitz

Zack  Polanski 

Ryosuke Takashima

Jomana  R. Alrashid

Shayne Coplan 

ADVOCATES

Amanda Jones

Emi  Mahmoud

David  Fajgenbaum 

Nomzamo  Mbatha

Elliston  Berry

Efrén Olivares 

Layla Zaidane

Shantanu Agarwal

Nina Gualinga 

Marshall  Hatch Jr.

Viktoria  Radvanyi  

Hannah  Fried 

Bertha Zúniga Cáceres

Daniel Swain

Charles  Hua 

Catalina  Martínez Coral

Rose  Njeri Tunguru

Alex Sheldon 

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