GKIDS announced last week that it has acquired the North American theatrical and home entertainment rights to The Legend of Hei 2. The donghua animated film will premiere in North American theaters, starting September 5, 2025. It originally premiered in China on July 18, 2025.
GKIDS will also release the Chinese animated film in Southeast Asia on August 28, 2025 and in Japan on November 7, 2025. It will also screen in theaters in Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea in future dates.
GKIDS describes the main premise of The Legend of Hei 2 as:
When an attack shatters the fragile peace between the spirit world and humanity, Hei teams up with Luye, the last disciple of his Shifu Wuxian, to expose a conspiracy that threatens both realms – and the bond they’ve sworn to protect.
The Legend of Hei 2 serves as a follow-up to the 2019 donghua film The Legend of Hei, which in turn is a prequel to the long-running Chinese flash animated series The Legend of Luo Xiaohei. The latter was released from 2011 to 2021 for 40 episodes and three specials. The original series also inspired a graphic novel, mobile game, and WeChat social media stickers.
MTJJ is credited as the original creator of the overall series, with the animation production of The Legend of Hei 2 being handled by animation studio Hanmu Chunhua (HMCH).
Shout! Studios released The Legend of Hei donghua film in 2021 as a Blu-ray/DVD combo set in the U.S. and Canada, which included an English dub. It described the synopsis of the first film as:
When cat spirit Luo Xiaohei’s home is deforested by humans, he must find a new one. He runs into a group of other spirit creatures who take him under their wing with dreams of reconquering the land they say is rightfully theirs. However, they run into a human known as Wuxian who separates Luo Xiaohei from the other spirits and the two go on a journey, with the cat spirit learning to control his abilities as well as forming his own thoughts on whether or not he should ally with the spirits or the humans.
Sources: Variety, Animation Magazine, GKIDS Official Twitter, GKIDS Official Website
