Filming Begins in May 2026 & What We Know So Far

Netflix has another huge live-action adaptation of a beloved webtoon in development, as it was announced that the streaming service is adapting the worldwide phenomenon Solo Leveling. Byeon W00-seok has been confirmed to play the series lead as Sung Jin-woo, and is joined by Han So Hee and Kang You Seok. Filming will reportedly get underway in April 2026.

Solo Leveling is an upcoming South Korean Netflix Original fantasy-action series and the adaptation of the popular web novel of the same name by author Chugong. The web novel has already been adapted, as its webtoon was serialized by KakaoPage in March 2018, and illustrated by Jang Sung-rak. While the webtoon was extremely popular in its own right, what propelled the franchise into the stratosphere was the anime adaptation.

The influence of the anime adaptation has been so ginormous that the webtoon has since amassed an impressive 14.3 billion cumulative views worldwide. However, what is more remarkable is that Sony recently announced the anime as the “most watched anime in the history of Crunchyroll.” Taking into consideration that the likes of One Piece, Naruto, Attack on Titan, and Demon Slayer are all available on Crunchyroll, that is an awe-inspiring feat. It even swept the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, winning nine of the major categories, including Anime of the Year, Best Action, and Best Character.

Photo Credit: Solo Leveling producers Sota Furuhashi (Aniplex), Atsushi Kaneko (A-1 Pictures), and Kanako Takahashi (Crunchyroll), along with English voice cast Aleks Le (voice of Sung Jinwoo) and Michelle Rojas (voice of Cha Hae-in) at the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre in North Hollywood – Saint / Crunchyroll

Solo Leveling is beloved, and like every live-action adaptation of a beloved manga, webtoon, or anime, it is often met with scrutiny. To help ease the nerves of fans reading this, Netflix has an excellent track record with its webtoon adaptations. Let’s not forget that Netflix has arguably two of the best live-action adaptations of beloved manga/anime out there, in Alice in Borderland and One Piece.

What is the plot of Solo Leveling?

Decades prior, strange portals began opening across the world, housing monsters who could unleash devastating harm to humanity. The arrival of the portals also saw the awakening of supernatural abilities in humans, granting them great strength and power to protect the rest of society and enabling them to hunt the deadly monsters.

Many years later, Sung Jin-woo, an E-Level rank hunter and one of the weakest hunters in Korea, puts his life on the line every time he enters a dungeon, regardless of how weak the monsters are within. After barely surviving a monstrously powerful double dungeon, Jin-woo is chosen by ‘the System’ and given a power unique only to him, allowing Jin-woo to level up his strength and magic by completing quests and battling more dangerous dungeons. 

Picture: Sung Jin-woo from the anime adaptation – A-1 Pictures

Who are the cast members of Solo Leveling?

Byeon Woo Seok, was the first cast member announced and will play the lead role of Sung Jin-woo. The actor has starred in several Netflix projects, including 20th Century Girl, Record of Youth, Lovely Runner, and Strong Girl Namsoon. Outside of Netflix, he has led K-dramas such as Moonshine, Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency, and the film Soulmate.

Picture: Byeon Woo Seok (left) will play the role of Jin-Woo (right)

It was reported by Naver that Han So Hee has joined the cast of Solo Leveling. While the name of her role hasn’t been announced, she is expected to be playing the role of Cha Hae In, Korea’s only female S-Rank Hunter. Netflix subscribers will be familiar with her work, thanks to her starring roles in fantastic projects such as My Name and Gyeongseong Creature.

Picture: Han So Hee (left) and Chae Hae In from Solo Leveling (right)

It has been recently reported that Kang You Seok has been offered the role of Yoo Jin Ho, a D-Rank Hunter, who befriends Jin-Woo. Kang You Seok has starred in Netflix projects such as Resident Playbook, When Life Gives You Tangerines, Start Up, and Mystic Pop-Up Bar.

Picture: Kang You Seok (left) and Yoo Jin Ho from Solo Leveling

There are several key characters that fans will look forward to seeing cast, such as:

• Sung Jin-ah – Jin-Woo’s younger sister.
• Yoo Jin-ho – D-Rank Hunter who befriends Jin-Woo.
• Cha Hae-in – Korea’s only female S-Rank Hunter.
• Go Gun-hee – Chairman of the Korean Hunters Association.
• Baek Yoon-ho – S-Rank Hunter and Guild Master of the White Tiger Guild.
• Choi Jong-in – S-Rank Hunter and Guild Master of the Hunters Guild.
• Woo Jin-chul – A-Rank Hunter and Chief Inspector of the Korean Hunters’ Association’s Surveillance Team.

What is the production status of Solo Leveling?

X user @ggonigone has been an incredibly reliable source of information regarding the various K-dramas that have come to Netflix over the past several years, and has reported that filming for Solo Leveling will begin in Early May 2026.

넷플릭스 오리지널 시리즈 <나 혼자만 레벨업>

2026년 5월 초 촬영 시작 (3~4개월 예정) pic.twitter.com/dmCYGmzmSo

— ‎ً (@ggonigone) March 30, 2026

What is the episode count?

The first season will have a reported seven episodes. However, this has yet to be confirmed officially.

When is the Solo Leveling Netflix release date?

With filming scheduled to begin in April 2026, we would expect a lengthy production schedule for the series. Not to mention an equally lengthy post-production is expected, given the number of visual and special effects we’re likely to see in the series. 

At this point in time, the earliest we could foresee the series on Netflix is late 2027 or early 2028.

We await further updates from Netflix.

Are you looking forward to watching the Solo Leveling adaptation on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!