Solo Leveling Season 3’s indefinite delay makes much more sense now because there looks to be a Solo Leveling movie on the way. While it still hasn’t been officially announced, multiple sources correlate the likelihood that a new Solo Leveling movie is in development. First was Solo Leveling creator Chugong’s statement during an interview that he was aware of discussions surrounding a potential movie.
Next, the latest and most promising indication that a Solo leveling movie is indeed on the way was an apparent leak of a financial document from D&C Media (the publisher of the Solo Leveling manhwa). The document suggests that there is a Solo Leveling movie planned for sometime in 2026, and the document cites the success of the Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle film as an example of its financial viability. The outlook for a Solo Leveling movie sometime next year does look promising, but if that does happen, A-1 Pictures should sincerely consider branching out from the upcoming manhwa arc for Season 3.
Solo Leveling’s New Multiverse Opens The Floodgates For The Anime to Deviate From the Manhwa
Suho and Beru watch Jinwoo fight the Itarim in Solo Leveling: RagnarokImage via KakaoPage
Solo Leveling’s relationship with the idea of a “canon” storyline has become increasingly complicated the more material the IP puts out. As it stands, the series’ direct continuation light novel sequel, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, wasn’t written by Chugong, and the Ragnarok manhwa even deviates strongly from the events of the light novel. Adding to that is the Solo Leveling: Arise video game, which frequently releases unique ‘what if’ manhwa one-shots that are clearly disconnected from the main storyline.
The Solo Leveling: Ragnarok manhwa recently made things even more complicated when it introduced the idea of a formula “multiverse”, in which the light novel version of characters could interact with those of the manhwa. Chugong compared this new multiverse to that of Marvel, which is infamous for alternative universes and timelines that can often crossover. Chugong even suggested he was thinking of writing his own sequel to Solo Leveling that would once again deviate from Solo Leveling: Ragnarok.
What this new multiverse concept means for the Solo Leveling anime going forward is that its story doesn’t necessarily need to follow as closely to that of the manhwa as fans originally felt it should. The anime is just another alternate version of the original light novel storyline. That could help explain why the anime’s Sung Jinwoo seems like such a different character from his manhwa counterpart, and it also opens doors for the Solo Leveling movie to deviate from the manhwa – which it absolutely should.
Solo Leveling Seasons 3’s Opening Arc Will Be One of the Manhwa’s Most Divisive
Following the Jeju Island Raid arc where Solo Leveling Season 2 left off, the stakes rise exponentially for Jinwoo. However, it takes a little while to really get to the good part. Two of the upcoming arcs set to be adapted in Solo Leveling Season 3, the Double Dungeon Arc and the International Guild Arc, are generally considered two of the best in the entire manhwa. Unfortunately, it takes getting through the Ahjin Guild Arc first to get there.
The Ahjin Guild Arc is the storyline that picks up directly following the Jeju Island Raid. It depicts Jinwoo’s efforts to get him and Yoo Jinho’s Guild off the ground. While essential to Jinwoo’s story and therefore not quite skippable, it’s easily one of the least popular arcs in the series – and understandably so. After the high-stakes battles of the Jeju Island Raid, the conflict of the Ahjin Guild Arc is comparably minor. In fact, the arc takes on an almost slice-of-life approach as Jinwoo recruits for his Guild, and even the arc’s final major fight scene presents absolutely no challenge for Jinwoo.
While it does take an interesting approach to horror by following Jinwoo’s sister in a moment of vulnerability, it’s nowhere near the intensity of the Ant King’s introduction. In terms of length, the Ahjin Guild Arc would likely fit nicely into a movie format, and its almost disconnected nature from the major conflict of Jinwoo’s story would make it a reasonable short storyline to adapt into a film. Neither of those virtues are enough to make it the kind of big Solo Leveling film event that could stand toe to toe with Demon Slayer or Chainsaw Man, though.
The Ahjin Guild Arc has very little of the intense aura farming action that gets fans so hyped about Solo Leveling, and there’s no threatening overarching villain to give Jinwoo a sufficient challenge. A Solo Leveling film will still do big numbers off its name alone, but to truly make a cultural impact that could rival Demon Slayer, the movie needs to avoid the manhwa’s next upcoming arc to do something that will leave a stronger impact on audiences.
The Solo Leveling Movie Has Plenty of Material to Pull From Outside the Manhwa
Cha Haein channels her Arise webtoon Valkyrie powers in Solo LevelingBrett Cardaro
The Solo Leveling movie doesn’t necessarily have to contradict the canon of the Solo Leveling manhwa and light novel in order to avoid adapting the Ahjin Guild Arc as a movie. It can simply explore another facet of the Solo Leveling universe, or alternative characters other than Jinwoo. It’s even possible to insert an added ‘side-quest’ for Jinwoo that doesn’t appear in the manhwa or light novel but which nonetheless doesn’t contradict the main storyline.
One increasingly popular fan-requested story arc idea is the Kamish raid. As important as the original Kamish raid was to the Solo Leveling Universe, it’s only an event that was mentioned in passing, but which fans have never gotten to witness firsthand. Diving into the Kamish Raid could not only give viewers some epic action sequences from infamously underutilized National Level Hunters like Christopher Reed, Liu Zhigang, and of course, Thomas Andre; it could also provide an interesting opportunity to delve into Sung Jinwoo’s backstory more with his childhood. Seeing Jinwoo’s childhood and relationship with his father, Sung Ilhwan, would be a crucial addition in preparation for Ilhwan’s more prominent role to come in Solo Leveling Seasons 3 and 4.
That kind of storyline would provide a much more emotionally compelling narrative than the Ahjin Guild Arc ever did. In an era where anime films like Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle are going head-to-head with huge Hollywood blockbusters at the box office, anime storylines are being taken more seriously by the masses than ever. Avoiding one of the more divisive arcs in the manhwa in place of something that can actually add further depth to Solo Leveling’s characters and world is exactly what the franchise needs right now.
