Asia continues to strengthen its North America footprint!
SQUID GAMES: AMERICA
It looks like the Squid Game universe is expanding again, this time with an American adaptation that now appears far more concrete than the early rumor cycle suggested. Multiple U.S. outlets report that Squid Game: America is scheduled to begin filming next year.
What started as unconfirmed chatter about a Hollywood spin-off—supposedly led by David Fincher—was initially denied by creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. But this week, Radio Times and other industry sources noted that Squid Game: America has officially been listed on the Film and Television Industry Alliance website.
The production is reportedly set to start in Los Angeles on February 26, 2026, with a creative lineup that includes Hwang Dong-hyuk, David Fincher, Dennis Kelly, and Cate Blanchett, who made a cameo as a new Front Man at the end of Squid Game Season 3.
If filming begins as scheduled, the projected release window lands in 2028, likely around the holiday season. As of now, Netflix hasn’t released any official statement.
GET YOUR ANIME FILL WITH STUDIO GHIBLY FESTIVAL!
THE ELIXIR: NO. 1 FOREIGN MOVIE IN NETFLIX
And if you’re looking for something new to watch this weekend, Southeast Asia just delivered a sleeper hit. Indonesia’s The Elixir is now the #1 non-English film on Netflix worldwide, pulling more than 11 million views and charting in over 70 countries.
ELIXIR is a zombie-horror film from Indonesia directed by Kimo Stamboel, has reached #1 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 for non-English films.
What makes it stand out: it blends local Indonesian motifs (like jamu, traditional herbal medicine) and setting (rural Java) with the zombie genre, showing that regional stories can scale globally.
The premise: a traditional herbal concoction meant to heal ends up unleashing a terrifying outbreak in a rural Javanese village—mixing folk medicine, superstition, and fast-moving horror. It’s gritty, atmospheric, and very Indonesian in all the best ways.
If you want something fresh in the zombie genre, this one deserves a spot on your list.
POPULAR HOLLYWOOD MOVIES THAT WERE COPIED FROM ASIAN MOVIES.
LABUBU: THE MOVIE
And in unexpected-but-kind-of-inevitable news: the Labubu craze might actually be heading to the big screen.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures has closed a deal to develop a movie based on the wildly popular Labubu dolls—the toothy little monsters from China’s Pop Mart that turned 2025 into a global blind-box stampede. The project is still in early development, and Sony hasn’t decided whether it’ll be live-action or animated. (Also very on-brand: Sony declined to comment.)
Labubus have blown up everywhere this year—helped by high-profile fans like Rihanna and BLACKPINK’s Lisa—and their drops consistently cause lines, lotteries, and resale madness. So the idea of turning them into a movie? Honestly, it tracks.
Sony already has experience with this lane, from Jumanji to the animated hit K-Pop Demon Hunters. If this moves forward, expect a quirky, chaotic creature universe built for global audiences.
A toy line going cinematic—because of course 2025 would give us that plot twist.
