The Tyrant was billed as a limited series, so it’s unlikely that Hulu/Disney+ will be renewing it for Season 2. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the story, since the K-Drama exists in a shared universe with Park Joon-hung’s movies The Witch: Part 1 – The Subversion and The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One.
This means that while a direct renewal is unlikely, there might still be more to come in other projects. The ending of The Tyrant certainly implied that the tale was far from told.
Park Joon-hung’s Passion Project
It is clear that this overarching story is a particular passion for writer-director Park Joon-hung. Despite The Tyrant being designed in such a way that it can be enjoyed by a complete newcomer, it’s undeniable that someone familiar with both parts of The Witch will get more out of it.
Since the ending of The Tyrant makes some of these connections even more explicit, particularly by suggesting, however obliquely, that Ja-gyeong may have been one of the test subjects from The Witch, Joon-hung clearly values the increasing connections between these projects.
Because of this, I do think it’s likely that we will see a continuation of the story established in The Tyrant, even if it doesn’t take the form of The Tyrant Season 2.
The Next Project Could Be Anything
With two films and what is essentially a miniseries under his belt, Joon-hung could turn to any of these mediums again. A third movie would seem a likely possibility, but likewise, the format of The Tyrant also seems pretty malleable. It’s easy to imagine multiple short seasons with four or so episodes focusing on different aspects of the world.
These could quite easily be direct sequels to the events of The Tyrant‘s finale, following Ja-gyeong or perhaps Lim or Director Sa. Since they wouldn’t be limited by a direct continuation a separate miniseries could be set earlier in the timeline, maybe focusing on Director Choe, the NIS, or even the U.S. intelligence services.
However, it’s worth noting that The Tyrant was originally intended to be a feature-film, and was only expanded into a series during the editing process. This might suggest that films are Joon-hung’s preferred medium.
Disney+ K-Dramas Are Rarely Greenlit For Second Seasons
It is generally understood that Korean dramas tend to be contained in a single season, outside of very rare exceptions. While the streaming landscape has changed this somewhat, with the extraordinary success of shows like Squid Games bucking the trend, it is still typical for shows to finish after just one season.
This seems especially true of K-Dramas that air on Disney+ internationally, which have almost exclusively been limited to a single season. This doesn’t necessarily bode well for the future of The Tyrant, but as discussed above, what truly matters is the overall story it’s a part of. And the next part of that could crop up anywhere.
