KPop Demon Hunters co-writer says film helped her come out as bisexual
"I was having this journey with my sexuality and not wanting to tell anyone and feeling ashamed of it," said co-writer Hannah McMechan
By Aaron Sugg
KPop Demon Hunters co-writer Hannah McMechan has revealed that working on the animated film helped her realise she was bisexual.
McMechan told People that when she joined the Oscar-winning Netflix project in 2020, she had not yet recognised her own sexuality.
“When I started the project, I had no idea that I was queer,” said McMechan. The film was officially released on 20 June 2025 via Netflix.
KPop Demon Hunters co-writer Hannah McMechan says COVID-19 gave her time to reflect on her sexuality
While working on the project during the COVID-19 pandemic, the isolation prompted self-reflection: “Then we went into the pandemic, and everyone was soul-searching and realising things about themselves.”
Although she did not intentionally write the film as a queer allegory, she found strong parallels between protagonist Rumi’s journey and her own experience of coming to terms with her sexuality.
KPop Demon Hunters is an animated action-fantasy film about a global K-pop girl group, made up of Rumi, Mira and Zoey, who secretly fight supernatural threats.
LGBTQ+ fans say Rumi mirrors themes of coming to terms with one’s sexual identity
LGBTQ+ fans say the award-winning film contains queer-coded themes, with Rumi coming to terms with her demon side, mirroring the experience of coming to terms with one’s sexual identity.
McMechan relates to one scene in particular in which Rumi’s adoptive mother says her half-demon identity is something she can “fix”, prompting her to reflect on her own identity.
The writer admitted she struggled with shame and fear while exploring her sexuality. “I was so afraid of telling anyone in my life, which ironically is very accurate to the movie,” she said.
“I was having this journey with my sexuality and not wanting to tell anyone and feeling ashamed of it.”
“They think it’s a phase” – McMechan says her family are still coming to terms with her bisexuality
After realising she was bisexual, she came out to friends and later to her parents in 2023, though McMechan said her mother and father are still coming to terms with her sexuality. “They think it’s a phase,” she said.
McMechan has been with her romantic partner for more than four years and says she was touched by queer viewers who have resonated with her story.
She and her writing partner, Danya Jimenez, are currently working on director Tim Burton’s remake of Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, starring Margot Robbie.
KPop Demon Hunters breaks records
Following the release of KPop Demon Hunters, it has gone on to make Netflix history as the most-watched film on the streaming service.
Though it was not just the cinematic breakthrough that earned the film global recognition. The animation’s hit song ‘Golden’ has become one of the most streamed songs in the world, surpassing 1 billion views on YouTube and over 1 billion streams on Spotify.