Highlights
- Solo Leveling live-action adaptation begins filming in May 2026, with Byeon Woo-seok confirming production.
- The series adapts Chugong’s globally popular web novel, Solo Leveling, aiming to expand the IP through a Korean drama format.
- With a major cast and VFX-driven production, the project reflects Netflix’s strategy to replicate past adaptation successes.
Netflix's Solo Leveling live-action adaptation filming has reportedly begun. Byeon Woo-seok, who is set to star as protagonist Sung Jin-woo, confirmed the development through Weverse, a platform that allows communication between Korean celebrities and their fanbase.
In the message, the Lovely Runner star stated, “As for Solo Leveling, we're filming soon. I'm filming this month,” offering one of the clearest updates on the production activity for the high-profile Solo Leveling Korean drama project. Previously, a known KDrama industry leaker, @ggonigone/X, also informed a May 2026 filming window for the live-action.
Several job listings in South Korea confirm that the Solo Leveling production is underway, with the shooting being scheduled to conclude in three to four Months. Netflix has not yet publicly confirmed a release window or a filming window since it confirmed the project in July 2025.
Netflix's Solo Leveling Live-Action K-Drama: What We Know So Far
Chugong’s Solo Leveling originated as a web novel in 2016. Its webtoon adaptation launched in 2018, and the franchise has accumulated 14.3B views globally by July 2025. Solo Leveling anime became a sensation, winning Crunchyroll’s Anime Award in 2025 and generating a 100% approval on Rotten Tomatoes.
Netflix's Solo Leveling live-action adaptation reflects the streamer’s Korean IP Strategy, with an aim to expand this globally popular IP into a live-action Korean drama, which has also been getting popularity across both South Asian and North American markets. The live-action series is co-directed by Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo, the filmmaking duo behind Ashfall and Castaway on the Moon.
Kakao Entertainment and SANAI Pictures are co-producing, with Netflix promising that a “world-class global VFX team” will handle the franchise's action-heavy narrative. Recent reports inform that the Solo Leveling K-drama will comprise seven episodes.
During the announcement, Netflix confirmed Woo-seok. Later Han So-hee (as Cha Hae-in), known for the critically acclaimed My Name, and Kang You-seok (as Yoo Jin-ho), known for Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines, have been attached to the project.
The production scale and high-profile cast highlight Netflix’s attempt to replicate the success of adaptations like Alice in Borderland and One Piece, after the criticism of previous live-action adaptations like Death Note. The long incubation period between announcement, filming, and release window also suggests that the production is taking the required time to replicate the complex world-building of Solo Leveling.
Nonetheless, the latest production updates suggest Netflix is steadily advancing one of its most closely watched Korean adaptation projects, even as the company remains silent about major details. With the Solo Leveling anime on an uncertain hiatus ahead of the third season, the live-action series will give the IP a much-needed visibility prior to the Crunchyroll Anime Awards (May 23), for which the anime is nominated.
