Solo Leveling exploded onto our screens in January 2024 and, like other big names such as Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia, it made a point of leaving its mark to stand out against the backdrop of the Winter 2024 uploads. And boy, did it leave its mark! Scoring an actual 100 on Rotten Tomatoes with increasingly positive reviews pouring in by the day, it was no surprise that the anime was renewed for a new Season pretty much immediately. Fans were able to sink their teeth into new episodes in January 2025.
With the one-year release gap almost down to the day, fans of the anime were excited for the potential of a Season 3 by January 2026, but hopes were dashed when the English-dub voice actor for Sung Jinwoo confirmed that Season 3 won’t be coming out for a while.’
Studios generally, and sensibly, like to capitalize on popularity while they can to amp up hype and pull in as many new viewers as possible, but it’s not uncommon to have to wait for new episodes. Of course, it’s quality over quantity, so even if it does take a matter of several years, it shouldn’t really be a big deal so long as the finished product delivers on what Sung Jinwoo has promised so far in this incredible series.
Currently, fans are speculating that Season 3 could be out as late as 2028 to coincide with the Olympics, following a comment made by the production team, and with the material available in the manhwa, it’s thought that Season 3 could be the amazingly successful anime’s conclusion.
Material to Work With
Solo Leveling actually began life as a web novel that clocked in at 179 chapters (though the translated version rolls in at 270 on Webnovel). It was officially picked up and adapted as a manhwa with the iconic Jang Sung-rak taking up the mantle of the series’s illustrator, and then, eventually, it was made into an anime as a collaboration between Crunchyroll and A-1 Pictures.
Season 1 of the anime covered the material present in the first 45 chapters. Season 2 took the story to Chapter 110. Doing that pesky elementary school math means that there really is only enough material to support two more seasons for the anime, though with that material being finite and with creative heads turning in other directions, there is speculation that Season 3 could push to the end of the story.
The end of Solo Leveling is sure to hit hype pique whenever those all-important artists decide to drop their final masterpiece, as, if staying true to the manwha, it will follow the crazy clash between the King of Dragons and Monarch of Destruction, Antares, and our home boy Sung Jinwoo. Just the idea of seeing Sung Jinwoo struggling against such an antagonist sends chills down the spine. Fans will be clamouring to see if our overly jacked-up protagonist will revert back to the behaviours he exhibited at the beginning of the anime, or if he will falter beneath the veneer that he’s built up for himself as this S Rank powerhouse.
Story Expansion and Sequels
While Solo Leveling’s manhwa update schedule started out strong, it did ultimately suffer due to the various health issues that Jang Sung-rak tragically began to experience. The incredible illustrator sadly passed away in 2022, and the overall opinion of the last chapters of the manwha is that they were somewhat, understandably, rushed.
The anime offers a little bit of breathing room for the story and an opportunity to expand on a few things to make those final clashes all the more meaningful but it will depend on how the studios and creators intend to honor Jang Sung-rak’s final outputs as to whether there will be extra content to pad out a potential Season 4.
Aside from possible additions to the original material, there is also the Solo Leveling: Ragnarok series, which, like its predecessor, began life as a light novel before being adapted into a manhwa. The story follows the adventures of Suho, Sung Jinwoo, and Hae-in’s son. With 47 chapters of material to consider, it’s definitely a solid contender for further Solo Leveling content.
This is Not The End
While the information on Season 3 of the Solo Leveling anime is sparse at the moment, everyone is eager to speculate on the release date and what the content will look like. The question is, would a three-year wait, as opposed to the one we had to wait for Season 2, damage the hype around this spectacular show? And with a wait like this, would the creators attempt to push for the rest of the Solo Leveling manhwa to be represented in the coming Season?
For now, we can only guess at what they have planned, but at least, with Ragnarok in the works, we can keep up the hope for more Solo Leveling awesomeness in the future.
