Ahead of Chapter 19's full release, the new Dead by Daylight killer The Trickster has captured the eyes of players everywhere, not unlike Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimitrescu did a few weeks back. Similarly, fans are now sharing their love for the k-pop killer in the form of fanart and fancams.
Previously, Dead by Daylight announced a new chapter called All-Kill, featuring a new killer and survivor. Chapter 19 is inspired by k-pop with the studio partnering with U-Kiss' Kevin Woo and a music producer who's worked with the prolific boy band BTS. The collaboration birthed the killer Ji-Woon, also known as The Trickster, who was recruited into a band known as NO SPIN until he kills the rest of his team in a fire out of jealousy. As for the new survivor, The Trickster chases his former producer Yun-Jin Lee.
It's certainly a unique and unexpected concept for the new Dead by Daylight characters, but even non-k-pop fans are sharing their excitement for All-Kill's Ji-Woon on Twitter. And despite the fact that The Trickster hasn't been fully released to the public for gameplay yet, he's seen no shortage of attention from internet fans. In just the couple of days since his announcement, hoards of fanart featuring The Trickster's design have graced the internet.
Some more k-pop-savvy fans think that Ji-Woon's Dead by Daylight design might be somewhat inspired by Kim Hongjoong, a member of k-pop group ATEEZ. Lots of fans are comparing The Trickster's design to Jared Leto's Joker, involving the same insanity and deranged bloodlust. And looking at some clips of Hongjoon rapping with the same crazed smile, it's very possible that Ji-Woon was inspired by the ATEEZ member.
And of course, lots of fans are joking about running away from the killer in the same way they did following Lady Dimitrescu's reveal. Most fans would seemingly rather get mauled by The Trickster than escape his wrath.
According to Dead by Daylight lore, after the fire killed the other members of NO SPIN, Ji-Woon's producer Yun-Jin created a new single and image for him to save both of their careers. He debuted as The Trickster with a global tour and became an instant hit, as did a surge of murders around the same time. After the agency's board pressured Ji-Woon and Yun-Jin to come up with another smash hit, the following performance turned into a horrific display.
Chapter 19's content is currently on Dead by Daylight's test servers for players to preview while awaiting The Trickster's full playable release.
Dead by Daylight is out now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia.