Published Jul 19, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
Casandra Ronning is a staff writer for Screen Rant’s anime section. Since mid-2024, she has dedicated herself to expanding her knowledge and experience in the entertainment industry. She is most proud of conducting an exclusive interview with popular voice actor Stephanie Nadolny.
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Solo Leveling became known for its fast-paced action and stunning visuals, earning it a reputation as a must-watch modern power fantasy. The series has since broken multiple records on Crunchyroll and built an even larger fan base than its original web novel and manhwa, making it one of the most anticipated anime to return in recent years. After months of speculation, a feature film has finally been announced, and its potential is far more promising than most audiences realize.
Some of Solo Leveling’s greatest moments stem from the story’s willingness to explore darker elements. Since the beginning of the series, Solo Leveling has repeatedly leaned into psychological tension and gruesome violence in ways that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. While the story has never shied away from these aspects, it never fully leaned into the genuine dread or horror that should come along with many of these scenes, leaving behind an overlooked opportunity that the upcoming film could take full advantage of.
As a power fantasy, Solo Leveling has everything fans could want, from an underdog protagonist who quickly rises through the ranks to ever-escalating stakes and opponents for Jinwoo to face off against. Paired with its rapid pacing and eye-catching animation, the series has understandably grown to become a massive global success, but it’s arguably its darkest elements that made the series as memorable as it is.
From the opening scenes, the anime made it clear that the world was not a gentle one, and Jinwoo, as the weakest hunter, often bore the brunt of those dangers. Then, during the Double Dungeon Incident, the series made it explicitly clear that the story would be full of bloody battles as well as challenges that are not only terrifying but inescapable. This was repeatedly proven not just by dungeon monsters, but by other Hunters who kill their own temps for hire, or by the System itself forcing Jinwoo to compete with whatever objective he is given.
These moments are often used to expand the story’s world and characters, making them thrilling plot points, especially as Jinwoo grows to become the Shadow Monarch, further distancing himself from his own humanity. Yet the series never fully embraces the cost of many of these moments, instead opting to briefly dwell on the incidents, if at all, before quickly shifting to the next major action sequence.
However, it’s exactly these moments that give *Solo Leveling *its greatest potential. If the series leans into the horror aspects of the story, it could make the stakes feel heavier while also adding greater weight to Jinwoo’s rise to power. Most importantly, this shift doesn’t need to detract from the action or power fantasy elements whatsoever, as the horror themes are already present in the story, just under-explored. If Solo Leveling’s next installments choose to embrace this direction, it could very well grow into something far greater than it already is.
Solo Leveling’s next major release was announced during Anime Expo 2026 and is confirmed to follow immediately after the events of Season 2. It is already a major milestone for the franchise and carries significant potential on its own. However, rather than simply following the series’ current formula of hyper-fixating on Jinwoo’s power progression, the movie has the chance to expand and develop the source material’s stronger focus on lore and character development.
In doing so, the film can also explore the atmosphere and consequences of Jinwoo’s god-like rise to power as well as the cost of the battles themselves. Allowing for a greater focus on these elements would add to the story’s tension and characters in ways that feed audience investment by adding depth and complexity to the narrative. This could, in turn, make each victory all the more impressive and meaningful, creating incredibly satisfying payoffs that go beyond mere power-fantasy fulfillment.
By allowing the horror themes to have a larger place in the story, the enemies would feel more threatening, the stakes more immediate, and Jinwoo himself would feel much more thrilling and fascinating instead of strictly coming across as impressive. Given that Solo Leveling already has a strong foundation, its movie has the greatest opportunity to expand on the darkest aspects of its story to make it even more compelling and turn it into the definitive representation of the series.
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