Record-Breaking Webtoon Gets Netflix Live-Action Adaptation

Netflix is officially bringing the hit webtoon Solo Leveling to life with a live-action adaptation, and it’s already creating a huge buzz. The streaming giant has cast rising South Korean actor Byeon Woo-seok in the lead role of Sung Jinwoo, a weak hunter who suddenly gains powerful abilities and becomes humanity’s last hope.

The series is based on the massively popular webtoon that originally started as a web novel by Chugong in 2016. It later got turned into a webcomic written by h-goon with art by Dubu, and it was published by KakaoPage in 2018. Since then, it’s been a worldwide hit, racking up over 14.3 billion views globally and staying at the top of KakaoPage’s charts for both web novels and webtoons.

The webtoon’s popularity exploded even more recently thanks to its anime adaptation, which took the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards by storm, winning major categories like Anime of the Year and Best Action. It was also the first Korean animation to win that many awards in one year. Fans couldn’t get enough of the anime’s intense battles, great animation, and the emotional journey of its lead character.

Now, Netflix is working with Kakao Entertainment and Sanai Pictures to bring the story into live-action. The project will be co-directed by Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo, who have previously worked together on films like Ashfall and Castaway on the Moon. Byeon Woo-seok, known for 20th Century Girl and Lovely Runner, will play Jinwoo. He’s been getting a lot of attention lately, and this role might just be his biggest yet.

Solo Leveling, also known as Only I Level Up, tells the story of Sung Jinwoo, a low-ranked hunter in a world where strange Gates appear and monsters come through. After a deadly dungeon mission, Jinwoo wakes up with a rare ability—he can level up like a game character. From there, his journey from weakest to strongest begins.

The original web novel had over 2.4 million readers just on KakaoPage, and the story kept gaining fans. The webtoon version ended in 2021, and it has been collected into 14 volumes as of mid-2025. There’s also been a spin-off webtoon called Solo Leveling: Ragnarok that started in 2024, and a video game called Solo Leveling: Arise was recently released by Netmarble.

Fans and critics had mixed reactions to the original ending of the novel and webtoon. Some praised the series for being fast-paced, thrilling, and easy to binge. They liked watching Jinwoo grow stronger and face new challenges. “There is a great sense of reward as you get to see Jinwoo level up and the new problems that arise as he heads towards godlike power,” said one reviewer.

But others felt the ending was too rushed and left too many plot holes. One person said, “Jinwoo seemingly didn’t need a grand, heroic reason for having power, making the reason as simple as wanting to live with and protect those he loved.”

Still, the anime was a huge hit. It got great reviews overall, with people enjoying the action scenes, the soundtrack, and the world-building. Some thought the characters could’ve been a bit deeper, but most agreed it was a fun watch and that Sung Jinwoo was a likable main character.

With all that success behind it, the live-action version has a lot to live up to. But with Netflix behind the project and Byeon Woo-seok taking on the role of Jinwoo, fans are hoping it’ll bring something fresh while staying true to what made the original so exciting.

The news comes from announcements shared by Netflix and updates from Kakao Entertainment.

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