Omniscient Reader and the Webtoon Industry's Chance at Greatness
They'd better not screw this up.
Korea is no stranger to live-action adaptations of webtoons. And with the recent popularity of K-dramas, serial adaptations like Marry My Husband and Sweet Home have drawn attention to the viability of the streaming market.
In just a few weeks, we’re supposed to see the release of The Remarried Empress, another K-drama adaptation expected to perform like gangbusters. At a time when K-dramas are at peak popularity on streaming sites, TRE is a bonafide ace aimed at domestic and international audiences.
And while the fan in me is more than happy to see more romances adapted for live action, the nerd in me wants spectacle.
I want pulse-pounding actions scenes, cinematic flare (and camera flare if the budget allows), and a story that spans worlds if not universes and galaxies.
The current slate of live-action webtoon adaptations are great, but they’re one-offs. They tell beautifully contained stories that leave us feeling fulfilled. These IPs don’t have epic battles, massive special effects and scenes where the music crescendoes as the hero/heroine makes the ultimate sacrifice.
In other words, they’re not Omniscient Reader.
What is Omniscent Reader?
Omniscent Reader started life as a webnovel written by singNsong back in 2018. It’s a very meta commentary on the litRPG genres (often referred to as “system action” in Korea) and exactly what domestic audiences were looking for at the time.
It was contracted quickly and developed into a webtoon of the same name by Riverse, one of REDICE’s subsidiary studios (of Solo Leveling fame). The webtoon was published in May of 2020 and was quickly popular due to it’s engaging story and high-quality art.
Currently, it’s one of WEBTOON’s most popular titles with over 400 million views for the English version alone. At over 260 episodes, it’s certainly one of the longer webtoons in production. And, as its source is nearing the 900 episode mark, it’s got a lot longer to go.
A Spectacle in the Making
Omniscient Reader might be the ultimate modern fantasy litRPG. The world of Omniscient Reader starts with an apocalyptic event that introduces monsters, a video game-like system, and super-powers to the general populace. The introduction of the “star stream”, an intergalactic audience of gods and supernatural beings watching the events on Earth, creates a meta-narrative where science fiction meets high-fantasy as figures like the monkey king and Zeus basically like, follow, and subscribe to their favorite humans.
And while the writing can get lost inside of itself, the art carries a lot of weight. Riverse’s talents are on full display as the audience is transported from Earth to the underworld, to realms of demons and beyond. It’s hard to think of any webtoon that’s kept this level of quality for 260 episodes while the story’s beats get more fantastic and more bombastic with time.
In other words, it’s the ultimate webtoon IP for overseas audiences.
A Silver Bullet for the Silver Screen
Omniscient Reader’s epic story is barely contained within the confines of the webtoon. It’s not difficult to see it serialized as a sci-fi epic anime or a video game.
And, unsurprisingly, both an anime adaptation and video game adaptation have been announced. Considering REDICE’s success with Solo Leveling and WEBTOON’s push into anime adaptations, it was an inevitability.
But more surprising was the news that Omniscient Reader would be adapted for live action back in 2021 when Smile Gate and Realies Pictures entered into a co-production agreement to start producing an Omniscient Reader film.
Casting and pre-production finished relatively quickly as filming was said to have started in December of 2023 and finished in May of 2024. The cast was led by Paul Ahn (K-Pop Demon Hunters) and Lee Minho (Boys Before Flowers) with the surprise casting of Jisoo from Black Pink.
What Makes This Different?
Omniscient Reader has all the hallmarks of a shonen series. Power creep that results in the characters receiving all sorts of visually stunning powers. A cast of well-designed characters who feel like they could support their own spin-offs. And an infinite variety of villains and antagonists for the heroes to face off against.
The merchandising would be amazing.
But, from a webtoon business perspective, there is one major factor that differentiates it from other anime, live-action and video game adaptations before it. Let’s say it all together folks.
Omniscient Reader is still actively publishing.
Almost every other webtoon adaptation to date has tackled an IP that had completed it’s publication run or whose publication run was less than 100 episodes. Omniscient Reader is sitting at over 260 episodes to date and still ongoing.
A successful Omniscient Reader film wouldn’t just bring WEBTOON a new audience, it would bring them to a series that has new releases every week. And it would draw attention to the many other sci-fi/fantasy works on the platform.
If Solo Leveling was the benchmark for what webtoon adaptations are capable of, Omniscient Reader represents a chance to fully capitalize on the IP before it makes it big. Omniscient Reader could be the title that pierces through the medium and hits the audiences so hard that they’re forced to see where it came from.
A Few Hiccups Along the Way
Thankfully, the studio behind the film adaptation isn’t intending to cram 900 episodes of the webnovel into one 2 hour film. Instead, this first film will cover the initial story arc of the series with additional follow-ups planned for the future.
But, for reasons that remain unclear, the trademark melee weapons of the series have been replaced with firearms. So instead of the swords and axes we’ve come to expect, we’ll be seeing handguns and sniper rifles.
Additionally, the initial preview released in February was widely panned due to the CG feeling cheap or incomplete. Omniscient Reader might be a AAA webtoon, but it certainly isn’t getting the AAA treatment on film.
Still, there’s room for hope. While hardcore fans will inevitably have their gripes, the films can bring in new audiences to the webtoon medium or result in licensing for overseas adaptations as well.
At the very least, we can expect the view count for OR to jump when it releases in theaters and then again when it hits streaming.
Omniscient Reader: The Prophet is currently slated for release on July 23, 2025 (hopefully I can find it with English subtitles for my wife).
Finally found someone who knows the value of orv, I can't even imagine how'll they ever bring orv to life I just feel like I'm gonna be disappointed