Mantis, is a 2025 South Korean action thriller film co-written and directed by Lee Tae-sung in his feature debut for Netflix. The film starring Im Si-wan and Park Gyu-young and co-written by Byun Sung-hyun is a spin-off, set in the same hired killer universe as of the 2023 film Kill Boksoon. The film is available to stream on Netflix from September 26, 2025.
00:00The film opens with Mantis, I.M.C. Wan, a highly skilled and famously reserved top assassin, abruptly cutting short his extended vacation.
00:09He returns to Seoul to find the regulated world of professional killers, overseen by the powerful guild known as the Company, in disarray.
00:17The strict rules and hierarchy that maintained global stability among assassins have dissolved following a recent power vacuum,
00:24a direct consequence of events in the wider hired killer universe, as established in Killboksoon.
00:31Mantis discovers the market is now a chaotic free-for-all, with rogue killers taking unauthorized contracts,
00:37violating territorial boundaries, and openly challenging the few remaining authoritative figures.
00:43His own territory and reputation are under immediate threat from upstarts looking to make a name for themselves.
00:48Initially, Mantis intends only to restore order to his sector and reassert his dominance.
00:55However, he quickly realizes that the chaos has ignited a sudden, brutal competition,
01:00the race to become the undisputed number one assassin in the world, a title that offers ultimate power and immunity.
01:06This competition is driven by a series of high-profile, extremely difficult contracts placed simultaneously by an unknown,
01:15powerful client group aiming to test the limits of the remaining top assassins.
01:19The failure or success of these contracts directly correlates to rankings.
01:24Mantis accepts a contract, a nearly impossible assassination involving corporate espionage and a protected target,
01:30to re-enter the game.
01:31As Mantis navigates the brutal competition, he crosses paths with two pivotal figures,
01:37Jae Yee, Park Yoo Young, a skilled, ice-cold assassin who was Mantis's former training partner and intense rival at the company's elite academy.
01:46Jae Yee is now operating independently, driven by a fierce desire to prove herself the superior killer.
01:52Their reunion is tense, marked by mutual respect, deep-seated resentment, and complex feelings stemming from their shared past and opposing views on the company's downfall.
02:03She is competing for the number one rank and becomes Mantis's primary, deadly obstacle.
02:08D.O.K. Go, a legendary, retired killer, famous for his unmatched efficiency and ghost-like ability to disappear after a job.
02:17D.O.K. Go re-emerges not for contracts, but seemingly to monitor the chaos.
02:23Mantis suspects D.O.K. Go is either a secret gatekeeper protecting the remnants of the company,
02:27or a mentor figure who has returned to judge the new generation of assassins.
02:32Mantis and Jae Yee's rivalry leads them to target the same difficult contract.
02:37During the execution of this mission, they uncover evidence suggesting the current chaos isn't random.
02:43The contracts and the breakdown of order were orchestrated by a small, powerful faction within the former company hierarchy,
02:49or perhaps by the secretive client group itself, to eliminate the old guard and install a more controllable number one killer.
02:57This realization forces a temporary, fragile truce between Mantis and Jae Yee.
03:01They must work together to survive the relentless, unseen assassins being sent to stop them from exposing the truth.
03:07The final confrontation takes place at the clandestine location where the master list of assassins is kept.
03:14Mantis, Jae Yee, and several other highly ranked killers converge, all fighting for survival and the elusive number one title.
03:22D.O.K. Go arrives at the climax, revealing his true motive.
03:26He has returned to destroy the corrupt system entirely, not to defend it.
03:30He sees Mantis and Jae Yee as the last hope for integrity in their world.
03:35In a spectacular final battle involving Mantis, Jae Yee, and the shadowy leader of the conspiracy, the system is exposed and violently dismantled.
03:44Mantis ultimately uses his strategic brilliance, rather than just brute force, to defeat his rivals and expose the entire plot.
03:52The film concludes with Mantis having successfully purged the system and neutralized the major threats.
03:57However, he refuses to claim the number one title, understanding that the title itself is what breeds corruption and endless war.
04:06He and Jae Yee part ways, neither quite friends nor fully enemies, leaving the assassin world leaderless but with a chance for a new, cleaner, yet still deadly, hierarchy to emerge under their watchful, independent eyes.
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