Streaming giant Netflix released two stills from the much-awaited spin-off special Kingdom: Ashin of the North, which explores the backstory of one of the hit series’ more mysterious characters.

The What’s Next Korea online event on Thursday, February 25, showed two stills from the upcoming episode, which will tell the backstory of a character Lee Chang’s group encountered on their journey north to discover the origins of the infected.

Kingdom, set in Korea during the Joseon dynasty, centers on a kingdom that turns into a “hell on earth” during an epidemic that turns people into “zombies” even as political tension grows in the ruling Cho family. The first season premiered in January 2019 with the second debuting over a year later in March 2020.

Still courtesy of Netflix

During a panel at What’s Next Korea, the show’s creators pointed out that it’s rare for a Korean series to have a spin-off series or episode – a novelty that happened, thanks in part to being a Netflix original. Show writer by Kim Eun-hee had earlier spoken at length about how Kingdom – which is unapologetic about its gore – would not have gotten the go signal in most Korean entertainment companies.

Kingdom is one of many Netflix originals from South Korea that have become international hits. It is directed by Kim Seong-hun.

Netflix has yet to announce an airing date for the spin-off, but Kim said that they’re done shooting it and are already in the post-production stage. – Rappler.com