Counting the One Piece live-action series, the upcoming Naruto Hollywood movie, and even Legendary Entertainment’s My Hero Academia film, an all-new era of anime live-action adaptations is definitely upon us. Unsurprisingly, Netflix has been heading this live-action charge. Granted, the streaming giant has had a mixed record when it comes to anime live-action adaptations in the past.
However, starting with the very successful One Piece live-action, Netflix seems to be turning things around for good. As such, hopes are high for one of Netflix’s biggest upcoming live-action endeavours — the live-action Solo Leveling series. Updates on the project have unfortunately been quite scarce so far. That said, with filming having finally taken off, Solo Leveling’s live-action has just given fans an epic first look at Jinwoo, specifically what he might look like as an E-rank hunter.
Solo Leveling’s Live-Action Jinwoo Star Takes Over The Cover Of GQ Korea
Byeon Woo-seok, who is set to play Sung Jinwoo in Netflix’s Solo Leveling, will be on the cover of GQ Korea’s August 2026 issue. Leading up to the release, GQ Korea’s X handle recently shared four of the cover shots featuring Byeon Woo-seok, including two striking images of him with longer, shaggier hair, and he is all but the exact image of E-rank Jinwoo from Solo Leveling.
Considering the Solo Leveling live-action just began filming in May, it is very possible that this longer hair is the exact look Byeon Woo-seok will be sporting at the start of the series. Furthermore, the GQ Korea cover photos also include a shot of the Perfect Crown star with his regular shorter hair and looking a little more roughed up than usual, giving fans another glimpse of what he could look like in the Solo Leveling live-action as Jinwoo, perhaps mid-battle.
Solo Leveling’s Live-Action Perfectly Cast Its Main Star
So far, the response to Byeon Woo-seok’s casting as Jinwoo has been met with excitement for the most part. And, with this new look at him in the latest issue of GQ Korea, there’s not even a shadow of a doubt that he looks the part to play Jinwoo, even in his E-rank hunter days. Of course, the real challenge will be making the towering star appear shorter initially, but there are many ways to get around that particular hurdle.
Byeon Woo-seok is about 190 centimeters (6’2) tall, while Jinwoo is 174 centimeters (5’8) at the start of the series and about 187 cm (6’1) by the end of Season 1 of Solo Leveling.
As for his acting capabilities, Woo-seok has already proven himself in countless past credits, including 20th Century Girl, Strong Girl Nam-soon, Lovely Runner, and most recently, Disney Plus’ Perfect Crown. Despite the controversy surrounding the latter, Byeon Woo-seok has even been nominated for the Global Star Award and the Hot Star Award, Best Couple (with IU in Perfect Crown), and Best OST (“Fate Line” from Perfect Crown) at the 17th Korea Drama Awards. At this rate, perhaps the only thing holding back the Solo Leveling live-action is its reported seven-episode run, which will surely leave fans wanting more.
Solo Leveling
- Release Date
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2024 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV
- Directors
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Tatsuya Sasaki, Toru Hamasaki
- Writers
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Shigeru Murakoshi, Shingo Irie, Fuka Ishii
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Genta Nakamura
Yoo Jin-ho
