Solo leveling officially expands the legacy of the iconic villain Ant King

Solo leveling became a worldwide sensation, especially after the events of its second anime season, which revived one of the series' most anticipated arcs, called the Jeju Island arc. In this arc, Chugong introduced the most exciting enemy yet, the Ant King, now known as Beru. The Ant King was a tremendously powerful enemy that fought Korean and Japanese hunters Solo leveling last anime, but why he never killed the Korean hunters never made sense to fans. Chugong, the creator of the series, expands on this lore, explaining why the Ant King didn't kill them outright, as he did with the Japanese hunters.

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Solo Leveling The author adds essential new details to Ant King's characterization

The Jeju Island Solo Leveling arc was adapted into 3 episodes in the anime, from Solo Leveling Episode 2 to Episode 13, and two major battles unfolded during these episodes. The first saw Korean S-rank hunters fight the Ant Queen. This battle wasn't easy, but Cha Hae-In was able to land a fatal blow and kill her. However, the real threat was then revealed when the Ant King arrived, far surpassing the Queen in strength.

The Ant King killed many of the Japanese S-Rank Hunters and then attacked the Korean S-Rank Hunters. While he attacked them, he only killed one of them. That never made much sense to the fans. The Ant King's slow actions gave Jinwoo enough time to arrive and fight him instead. To many, it looked like the blatant armor of the Korean S-Rank Hunters. Here is what the author has to say about this development:

“If I had to describe Beru's behavior in one sentence, it would be: 'Ripping off the wings of a dragonfly.' Because of the sin they had committed (killing the queen), he planned to torture them thoroughly before killing them. He did not grant them a merciful death. If Sung Jinwoo wasn't there, he probably would have extensively tortured the Korean hunters and then moved to Korea to exterminate all Koreans. For the record, he ate Min Byung-Gyu's head not because Min Byung-Gyu's healing was annoying or because he wanted the healer's powers, but to communicate and get information from the race that killed the queen (Koreans) in order to destroy that race.” — Chugong

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

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In retrospect and after the author's comment, the Ant King's actions make much more sense. First, he didn't immediately go kill the Korean hunters because he had his hands full with the Japanese ones. It was only after the queen shouted and alerted him that he became aware of the others. Furthermore, he considered killing the Ant Queen to be a grave sin, so he believed that simply killing the Korean hunters quickly would not be enough. Instead, he wanted to torture them as long as possible to torture and make them go through excruciating pain.

solo leveling ant king information — solo leveling ant king fighting yin woo

Chugong even confirmed that the Ant King was smart enough to specifically target Byung-Gyu to gain the ability to communicate with humans, further showing that he wanted revenge and wanted them to feel pure fear. However, the Ant King is no longer an enemy. Instead, he became one of Jinwoo's greatest allies. After defeating the Ant King, Jinwoo used his Rising skill to turn him into a shadow, now known as Beru. Beru is one of Jinwoo's strongest shadows and will have a major role in the upcoming Solo Leveling anime project. He will help Jinwoo in all his intense battles and will continue to evolve.

As for Solo Leveling's next animated project, it's not confirmed what A-1 Pictures plans to do next. While many fans are anticipating Solo Leveling Season 3, it doesn't seem like it's happening anytime soon. Instead, the latest production leaks point to an animated film with a theatrical release in mind.

Since nothing has been officially announced yet, the release date is unknown, but fans should expect somewhere around 2027, based on leaked committee reports and previous comments from staff.