Thanks to Netflix, we’re about to get a BTS look at BTS themselves.
Four years after announcing their hiatus, K-pop royalty BTS are finally back. On Monday (March 16), Netflix shared a new trailer for BTS: The Return, a forthcoming documentary following the group’s epic return to the stage. In the trailer, the group’s seven members speak about the pressures of returning to an ever-changing industry together after an extended period of time apart.
“Trends shift every season. Standing still isn’t an option,” says RM. “And we’re trying to find out what makes us BTS.”
It’s clear from the teaser that viewers will get an inside look at exactly that — what makes BTS, BTS — as the camera follows them from the studio to the tour bus and from Seoul to L.A. What we also learn from the trailer is that though the group is rightfully nervous about making such a big return, they are also excited. Despite the pressure on them, they know that making music and performing together are exactly what they’re supposed to be doing.
“We are finally back where we’re meant to be,” Jimin says in the teaser.
After six Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s, becoming the first K-pop act to receive a Grammy nomination and the formation of one of the most dedicated fanbases ever, BTS announced an extended hiatus in 2022. The decision to take a break came about due to desires to work on solo projects as well as members’ need to fulfill South Korea’s mandatory military duty. Though the break was originally described as “indefinite,” the band’s members knew that they would find their way back to one another again.
“I think that change is what we need right now,” J-Hope in the hour-long FESTA dinner where the announcement was first made. “It’s important for BTS to start our second chapter.”
That second chapter is finally here. Back in January, the group announced their return and the release date for their highly anticipated fifth studio album Arirang, set to be released on Friday March 20. Alongside dropping the new album, BTS has also partnered with Netflix on the upcoming documentary as well as a live comeback concert. The concert, airing from Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, will stream on the platform on Saturday March 21, the day after the album drops.
A week following the album’s release, BTS: The Return will chronicle the process of rebuilding BTS, working together for the first time in nearly half a decade and making new music that is fresh but still distinctly BTS. The feature-length film is directed by Bao Nguyen (The Stringer, The Greatest Night in Pop) and produced by This Machine and HYBE.
In addition to the documentary, Netflix will also stream BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG, a live concert special from Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, on March 21, that will broadcast the first full BTS group concert since 2022.
Six days later, BTS: The Return will air exclusively on Netflix on March 27. Watch the documentary’s trailer below.
