Disney+ ‘The Remarried Empress’ set aside expectations and concerns and, moving the release date up, is finally released today (3rd) in the afternoon. It was originally scheduled to open on the 4th, but a surprise announcement said the date was moved up by one day.
On the morning of the 3rd, at the Grand Ballroom on the 3rd floor of Conrad Seoul in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, a production presentation for the Disney+ original series “The Remarried Empress” was held. Leading actors Shin Mina, Ju Jihoon, Lee Jong-suk, Lee Seyoung, and director Jo Su-won attended.
Before the formal production presentation began, MC Park Kyung-rim said she had an astonishing surprise to announce, and said, “The release date of ‘The Remarried Empress’ has been changed from the 4th to the 3rd,” meaning global fans can meet the work a day earlier.
Director Jo Su-won said, “I am a little nervous and excited. When it was shown at the Busan International Film Festival (last month) the response was good, so expectations are high,” and added, “The point I was most curious about was ‘How will audiences receive it?’ Honestly, I am quite nervous. Since it opens on the day of the production presentation, it feels more meaningful.”
“The Remarried Empress” is a romantic fantasy epic in which Navier, the perfect empress of the East Empire (played by Shin Mina), is informed of a divorce by Emperor Sovieshu (played by Ju Jihoon), who falls for the runaway slave Rasta (played by Lee Seyoung). Navier accepts the divorce on the condition that she be allowed to remarry Prince Heinley of the West Kingdom (played by Lee Jong-suk).
The original web novel surpassed approximately 2.97 billion cumulative views, and was later adapted into a webtoon. It is a legendary work with a global fandom, served in 10 languages including English, Spanish and Japanese. It drew enormous attention from the moment it was announced it would be produced for screen, and was hailed as a work that could open new horizons for the K-romance fantasy genre. Expectations soared further with the overwhelming scale and dazzling visuals that translated the original’s vast world to the screen, and curiosity grew over the unpredictable relationships and fateful choices of the four characters against an imperial backdrop of love and betrayal, power and desire. On the other hand, there were various hopes and concerns about whether it would become a reenactment drama surprise or a Netflix hit series like Bridgerton.
Ju Jihoon is playing an emperor character again for the first time in 20 years since he played Crown Prince Lee Shin in MBC’s drama “Goong” (2006). His character betrays Empress Navier after falling at first sight for the beautiful slave Rasta. Shin Mina, who last December married Kim Woo-bin, who is five years her junior, will present a drama for the first time since her marriage with “The Remarried Empress.” This is her third time working with co-star Ju Jihoon, after the 2007 drama “The Devil” and the 2009 film “The Kitchen.” This pairing is, again, not a happily ever after but a “failed love” couple.
Shin Mina said she chose the project because “the script is a new form, so there was curiosity. Of course there were concerns. Still, there were familiar parts, so I felt it would be a series that is very familiar yet new. I thought the empress role I took could show aspects I haven’t shown before,” explaining why she chose the work.
Ju Jihoon said that at first the original was unfamiliar to his taste, adding, “I was wondering, ‘Is this something I can put in my mouth?’ but a trustworthy person put it in my mouth,” and said, “Honestly I’m still savoring it and thought it might be a prejudice. We’re used to guk (soup in Korean cuisine), and when you hear ‘soup’ you might hesitate, but after tasting it you might think ‘it could be guk.'”
Responding to remarks that the work’s first screening at the Busan International Film Festival drew sighs in a negative way, Ju Jihoon said, “Times are tough these days and life is difficult in many ways, but if viewers’ hearts are warmed and they feel relieved while watching our work even if they criticize me, it’s okay,” and added, “I’ve been in the entertainment industry for over 20 years and have seen hundreds of thousands of comments, so my mentality is prepared; as long as people enjoy the work, they can do as they please,” declaring he was prepared to be criticized and earning laughs.
Lee Jong-suk plays Prince Heinley of the West Kingdom, who comes from a family known for magicians and can transform into a magnificent new form. Hiding his identity, he approaches Empress Navier in the form of a bird and grows an unrequited love. Lee Seyoung returned to her next project, “The Remarried Empress,” one year after finishing MBC’s “Motel California” last year. Her character rises overnight from runaway slave to government consort after attracting the attention of Emperor Sovieshu. She challenged an almost nonexistent villain role in her filmography to attempt an acting transformation.
Lee Seyoung said, “It was appealing because the role is a hateful yet endearing villain I haven’t been able to show before,” and added, “When I received the offer, director Jo Su-won, with whom I had worked, and senior colleagues had already been cast. I really wanted to be part of it. I thought I could show a new side through my character Rasta. I was happy to be able to work with seniors on set,” expressing satisfaction.
Lee Jong-suk, who said he encountered the original before receiving the offer to appear, said, “I had enjoyed the webtoon and web novel, and when I heard it would be made into a drama, I thought it would be unfamiliar but fresh and attractive,” and added, “Also, I thought, ‘When else would I get to play a prince?’ and took it with that feeling.” MC Park Kyung-rim said, “You look very princely today as well,” and Lee Jong-suk shyly said, “Thank you.”
He continued, “From the start I felt burdened by the depiction of Heinley and the surrounding characters. There are settings like ‘they fainted even when encountering him in the bathtub’ and ‘women fainted when making eye contact,’ so we had to pay more attention to the external appearance than in other works. That made it a very burdensome project,” he confessed.
Director Jo Su-won, who worked with Lee Jong-suk on the hit “I Can Hear Your Voice,” said, “At first Jong-suk showed a lot of interest. He was an actor who gave me great courage during the work,” and added, “As we met each person and proceeded, I wondered, ‘Is such a combination possible?’ On set and up to this moment, the four of them have been helping well,” expressing gratitude.
Lee Jong-suk said, “When creating the bird with CG, I had many conversations with the person in charge about those parts,” and added, “I didn’t actually act inside the bird, but I was always anxious about how it would turn out. I didn’t know how the bird would look until the result came out, so that made me nervous.”
The bird appearing in the drama resembles Lee Jong-suk’s face quite a bit, and his actual face was used as a reference.
Lee Jong-suk said, “Actually I’m a bit of a ‘bird’ person. (laughter) To convey that the queen and Heinley are the same person, Heinley’s hair is the same brown as the queen’s when you look at it. I believe they even used shape and gestures when designing the bird,” and said, “Personally, the burdensome part was the nude scene when changing from bird to human. Those elements were very burdensome.”
He added, “Another behind-the-scenes point is that when the bird first turns into a human the drama progresses, and I thought persuasiveness was important. I told the director, ‘Since I appear nude, give me a little more time. Give me one more month.'” He added, “I’m relieved that Quan is loved so much. Honestly, communicating with the bird might have been harder for Shin Mina senior than for me. I could just think, ‘This is what the bird’s emotions are like,’ but for the senior who had to coordinate directly, it might not have been easy,” he explained.
Shin Mina said, “The teams working on the bird brought various looks for the queen and explained in detail what expressions and gestures might be like. I received a lot of help from that. While filming with Jong-suk, I felt and received help from similar parts,” she added.
Finally, director Jo Su-won, amid the mix of expectations and concerns, said, “The webtoon is a bit brighter and more mischievous than the novel’s seriousness. We tried to set a middle ground in tone,” and added, “We tried to be as faithful to the original as possible, and I hope fans who read the original will enjoy it.” Ju Jihoon said, “Our work is a fantasy. So I think it fits well with the platform Disney+. When we watched Disney as children, weren’t we invited to a land of dreams, hope and wonder? I think ‘The Remarried Empress’ is like that too. We invite you, so I hope you freely enjoy the fantasy,” he said.
Meanwhile, “The Remarried Empress” will start by releasing episodes 1–4 today (3rd) at 5 p.m. on Disney+, and two episodes will be released every Wednesday thereafter, for a total of 10 episodes.
[Photo] Park Joonhyung, reporter
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