Chugong, the author of Solo Leveling‘s webnovel, said in a recent interview that he considers the sequel, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, to be a fanservice spin-off, before stating that he is also considering writing his own direct continuation to the main story.
Kakao had announced the Solo Leveling: Ragnarok webnovel back in April 2023. Written by author Daul, it began serialization on the KakaoPage platform on April 10, 2023. At the time, Chugong had reported that he decided to support Daul and experienced the same emotions he felt when he first serialized the original story.
However, now, in a recent interview with LitRes, a digital and audiobook service in Russia, Chugong said that Ragnarok was an experiment to see another author’s interpretation of the world he created.
“Ragnarok was a spin-off created for the sake of fanservice,” Chugong said. “I was curious to see how another author could write Solo Leveling.“
“This story is part of the Solo Leveling world, but it is not a direct continuation of the main plot. It’s more like one of many possible scenarios, similar to the Marvel parallel universes,” the author added.
He concluded his thought on the matter by confirming his own potential plans for returning to writing the series, stating, “And, of course, I am also considering the possibility of writing a sequel myself.”
Interestingly, in the same interview, when asked to choose his favorite version between the novel, webtoon, and anime, Chugong said that his favorite would always be the web novel he wrote, which he described as “the truest, original, and 100% most authentic version of the story.”
This has led to some speculations that the author might not have been satisfied with how the source material was adapted in the webtoon and anime, with a possibility that this feeling extended to Ragnarok too.
The Solo Leveling: Ragnarok web novel concluded after publishing 357 chapters.
Its plot is set after the main story and follows Sung Suho, the son of original protagonist Sung Jinwoo and his wife Cha Hae-in. A webtoon adaptation of Ragnarok, developed by Redice Studio, premiered on July 31, 2024. The adaptation is written by Dangdo, with art by Jin, and is still ongoing.
Additionally, the Solo Leveling franchise as a whole is showing no signs of slowing down, with a Netflix live-action adaptation confirmed to be in the works. This is in addition to the two games in development, and also the upcoming third season of the anime.
Source: LitRes
