KPOP DEMON HUNTERS Duo Set to Write Tim Burton’s Take on ATTACK OF THE FIFTY FOOT WOMAN
The creative team behind one of animation’s biggest recent hits is leveling up in a big way. Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan, the screenwriters who helped turn KPop Demon Hunters into a global phenomenon, have landed their next high-profile project.
The duo has been tapped to write the screenplay for Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman, which is being reimagined with Tim Burton attached to direct, and Margot Robbie starring.
The project is coming together at Warner Bros. Pictures, which brought Jimenez and McMechan on board after news of Burton’s involvement surfaced in 2024. The film updates the 1958 sci-fi horror classic about a wealthy heiress who grows to colossal size following an alien encounter and takes revenge on her unfaithful husband.
Burton, whose filmography includes Beetlejuice and Mars Attacks, is also producing alongside Andrew Mittman and Tommy Harper. An earlier version of the script was written by Gillian Flynn.
The production lineup is equally impressive. LuckyChap, the company led by Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Josey McNamara, is producing and developing the film, with Morgan Begg overseeing the project as director of development.
For Jimenez and McMechan, the leap to a Burton-directed studio feature follows a breakout run that started with KPop Demon Hunters. The two met while attending Loyola Marymount University, later landing a script in the Sundance Feature Lab.
It was there that fellow writer Nicole Perlman pitched an idea that eventually evolved into KPop Demon Hunters, which they wrote alongside co-director Maggie Kang.
“We started writing that in 2020 during the pandemic. At first, we were like, ‘This is going to be the biggest movie ever, and then as time passed, we were like, ‘Maybe it won’t get made. Who knows?’
And then we were on set this summer and the trailer dropped and we were shocked. You don’t really expect anything from this career. You’re just grateful to get paid and if something happens with it, that’s great.”
Added McMechan: “This was truly the first time where there was all this manpower behind it, and it felt like it was on track to being made.”
Since its release last summer through Sony Animation and Netflix, KPop Demon Hunters has exploded into a worldwide hit. The film became Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time, while its soundtrack smashed records on the Billboard 200.
It’s also earned three nominations at this year’s Golden Globes, including best animated motion picture, best original song, and cinematic and box office achievement.
Now, with Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman in their hands and Burton shaping the vision, Jimenez and McMechan are stepping into the kind of genre playground that feels perfectly suited to their offbeat instincts.
It’s a cool pairing of classic sci-fi, surreal style, and rising screenwriting talent, and it’ll be exciting to see just how massive this new take becomes.
Source: Variety