Solo Leveling: Byeon Woo-Seok to star in Netflix's live-action adaption of popular anime

Netflix has been on a roll with its live-action anime adaptations thanks to Avatar: The Last Airbender and One Piece. Now, the streaming service has announced that South Korean actor Byeon Woo-Seok will be playing the lead role in the live-action adaptation of the popular anime series Solo Leveling. Byeon Woo-Seok is best known for his role in K-dramas like Lovely Runner, No Gain No Love, and 20th Century Girl. He will be playing the role of Sung Jinwoo. He is currently one of the most popular actors in South Korea. Netflix announced the news via X, much to the delight of his fans.

Solo Levelling: From web novel to award-winning anime

Solo Leveling is a fantasy web novel written by Chugong that gained international popularity after it was adapted into a webtoon and has garnered over 14.3 billion views. The popularity led to an anime adaptation that was directed by Shunsuke Nakashige and produced by A-1 Pictures. The first season of the series made its debut in January 2024 and was a massive success. The second season was released in January 2025 along with the compilation film Solo Leveling: ReAwakening.

The anime has won multiple awards and is the first Korean-based anime series to win Anime of the Year at the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

Solo Levelling: A world of hunters and monsters

The series is set in a fantasy world where humans with supernatural abilities are called Hunters. They protect humanity from dangerous monsters and follow a young Hunter named Sung Jinwoo, who has very weak magical powers and struggles to survive. But one day, his life is changed when he survives a near-death encounter and is chosen by an enigmatic entity that grants him the ability to level up his powers.

The upcoming live-action series will be co-directed by Lee Hae-Jun and Kim Byung-Seo.