KPop Demon Hunters began in 2018 when director Maggie Kang pitched the idea to producer Aron Warner, and Sony announced it in 2021. Kang built it on Korean mythology and shamanism, including the historical use of song and dance in the rituals of shaman women, and called it her love letter to K-pop and to her Korean background. She wanted its heroines to be cool but also goofy, with potbellies and burping, and cited Bong Joon Ho's The Host as inspiration for mixing tones. Chris Appelhans co-directed.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.