When we first received a request for a film premiere, it felt unfamiliar. Game company events, fan events, running booths — those we knew, but a premiere was new. Once we heard the details, though, confidence took over. "Ne Zha 2" is an animated film with an existing fanbase, and it has characters with a distinct presence, so we judged it suited cosplay better than almost anything. The distributor also wanted those characters brought to life at the premiere, and so on 10 February 2026 we were able to bring cosplayers to the "Ne Zha 2" event at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall.
Two characters, two people
The first thing we did was decide who to cast. "Ne Zha 2" called for two characters: the awakened adult form and the child version. The question was how to make two characters with completely different energies feel like one cohesive team on site.
After some thought we cast Jeong Jenny as Ne Zha and Park Ha as the awakened form. We judged that Jeong Jenny's pure, delicate expressiveness and Park Ha's intense, mysterious presence matched the characters exactly. Happily, both accepted readily and began studying how they would each embody their character.
How Mystic Muse makes costumes
The schedule was what made us most nervous. The event was on 10 February, and costumes had to be finished by the 9th — but counting back from the request, the time in hand wasn't generous. Costumes aren't simply bought and worn; they had to be made to each cosplayer's measurements, and the same went for the wigs. Fortunately the makers we have worked with for years fitted us into their schedule quickly, which is how the collaboration came together at all. The final alterations finished on the evening of 9 February, and seeing the completed costumes, everyone was relieved. We didn't want to compromise on quality even on a tight schedule, and the result went beyond what we expected.
Mystic Muse roams CGV
On the day at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall, Jeong Jenny and Park Ha entered as Ne Zha and the awakened form. The premiere ran until 10pm, and over those hours the two moved through the sixth and seventh floors around the screening halls, holding photo sessions with the audience. We had first considered having them stand in fixed positions, but after discussion the view emerged that we should stage it "so people meet them without having to seek them out," and it changed into cosplayers going to the audience themselves. On site, that approach drew a good response: a character suddenly appearing in a hallway surprised people, and many came over asking for a photo.
A second event at CGV Wangsimni
Perhaps because the response was good, the premiere at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall wasn't the end. Carried by that support, on 28 February Mystic Muse and CGV worked together on a "Ne Zha 2" cosplay screening at CGV Wangsimni.
Audience members took part by cosplaying characters from the film themselves, or by wearing or bringing Ne Zha-related props. Our cosplayers picked the winners on site and handed over the prizes, which turned it from simple viewing into something the audience joined directly. As a gathering where fans of the film became the characters themselves, the atmosphere was something else.
Why cosplay suits a film premiere
What we took from this project is that a film premiere fits cosplay better than we expected. People coming to a premiere already arrive with anticipation for the film. Meeting a character in the flesh within that mood isn't just an event — it feels like experiencing the film's world.
Photos the audience took and posted spread naturally afterward. What people who were there posted traveled further than what we shared ourselves. The fact that cosplayers were actually present made the content feel far more alive than a poster or a video ever could.
It was a new category for us, and it turned out to be a very good experience.