'The Remarried Empress' cast on bringing 2.97 billion-view webtoon to life

"When I first read the original work, it felt unfamiliar to my taste. I wondered whether I could even put it in my mouth."

That was how Ju Ji-hoon, who plays Emperor Sovieshu of the Dongdae Empire, described his first encounter with "The Remarried Empress" ahead of its Disney+ premiere. The story began as a web novel, migrated to a webtoon and spread across 10 languages — and has now made the leap to live action. A fictional Western imperial court, divorce and remarriage, a prince who transforms into a bird: Ju was not alone in finding the material unfamiliar.

Shin Min-a, speaking Tuesday morning at a press conference for the Disney+ original series at Conrad Seoul in Yeongdeungpo-gu, said she encountered the script before the source material. "It was a new kind of script, so I had both apprehension and anticipation about how it would turn out," she said.

She added that the story's core themes felt familiar enough to bridge the gap. "The story it wanted to tell was something we already knew, so I thought that if the familiar and the new could blend harmoniously, it could become a new kind of drama series," she said.

"The Remarried Empress" opens with Empress Navier (Shin Min-a) receiving divorce papers from Emperor Sovieshu (Ju Ji-hoon), who has fallen for a runaway slave named Rasta (Lee Se-young). Rather than simply accept the divorce, Navier demands approval to remarry Western Kingdom Prince Heinrey (Lee Jong-suk). The series is based on the web novel of the same name, which author Alphatart began serializing on Naver in 2018.

The story started as a web novel before moving to a webtoon format in 2019, and has since been translated into 10 languages. The original webtoon has accumulated 2.97 billion views globally as of July. Director Jo Su-won, known for "I Hear Your Voice" and "Pinocchio," helms the series, with writers Yeo Ji-na and Hyeon Chung-yeol of "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" handling the screenplay.

The series had originally been set to premiere Wednesday, but the release was moved up by one day. Episodes 1 through 4 dropped Tuesday afternoon, with two new episodes to follow every Wednesday until all 10 episodes have aired. The schedule change reflected strong audience response after the series screened in the "On Screen" section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival last month.

"The reaction at the Busan International Film Festival was so positive that my expectations have grown even higher," director Jo said. "What I was most curious about was how audiences around the world would respond when it dropped simultaneously."

Navier is a character who rarely wavers even in the face of a shocking betrayal. For Shin Min-a, the challenge was conveying the empress's dignity while still letting the emotional turbulence of a woman show through. "Because of the weight of being an empress, her emotional shifts couldn't appear as large as those of other characters," Shin said. "But I also had to show her human side — falling into a new love and choosing that love as a woman." Shin said she believed that walking that line carefully was what would allow viewers to root for and empathize with Navier.

The series faithfully recreates much of the webtoon's visual style, bringing to life the original's settings, names and the regal elegance of gowns and crowns. "I had to project the empress's dignity outwardly through costumes and hair," Shin said. "There was excitement, but there was also pressure. Looking back, it has become a cherished memory — I don't think I'll ever get to live in a world like this again."

Emperor Sovieshu — the straying husband at the center of the story — has long been a target of reader resentment. Ju described the character charitably as "someone who is, in a good light, like a pure-hearted child." From the emperor's perspective, he argued, even the decision to take a concubine carries its own logic: the throne demands an heir. "We follow the story from Navier's point of view and feel her emotions," Ju said, "but if the title were 'The Remarried Emperor' instead of 'The Remarried Empress,' it would all make perfect sense."

Ju took the backlash that followed the Busan screening in stride. "If my performance makes your heart burn, or if pointing a finger at me and venting your anger gives you relief in your daily life, then I'm satisfied as an actor," he said with a laugh. He added that 20 years in the entertainment industry had prepared him well: "I've read countless comments over the years — my mental fortitude is ready."

"The Remarried Empress" marks the third collaboration between Lee Jong-suk and director Jo Su-won, reuniting them roughly 11 years after their hit drama series "I Hear Your Voice" (2013) and "Pinocchio" (2014).

"I had a great time reading the webtoon and web novel, so when I heard it was being adapted into a drama series, I thought it would be unfamiliar but fresh and charming," Lee said, explaining his decision to join the project. "And I thought — when else would I get to play a prince?"

Prince Heinrey communicates with Navier by exchanging letters in the form of a bird, a transformation rendered through computer-generated imagery. "The head of the CG team told me they referenced my characteristic gestures and movements when building the bird," Lee said. "I was always anxious because I had no idea how the bird would look until the final result came out." To reinforce the sense that the bird and the prince are the same being, the bird's head was given brown hair to match Lee's. "I do have a bit of a bird-like face," he said with a laugh. The scene in which Heinrey first returns to human form required filming in the nude. "I thought it was an important scene that needed to give credibility to everything that follows, so I remember asking for one more month of preparation time," he said.

In the original work, Heinrey is described as so strikingly handsome that characters are said to collapse just from meeting his gaze. "There were so many descriptions in the drama — 'collapsed from eye contact,' 'his voice was too beautiful' — so I had to pay more attention to my appearance than in any other project," Lee said. "It was the most pressured I've ever felt about my looks." He also worked closely with Choi Dae-hoon, who plays Heinrey's secretary McKenna, to bring out the prince's signature ease and playful charm.

Lee Se-young reunites with director Jo roughly seven years after "Doctor John" (2019). The character Lee plays, Rasta, is a former slave who wins the emperor's favor, enters the imperial palace and gradually lets her ambitions grow. Lee Se-young described Rasta as "a lovable villain you dislike but can't quite bring yourself to hate."

Lee Se-young said her first impression of Rasta was captured in a single line of dialogue: the moment Rasta, newly arrived at the imperial palace, asks Empress Navier, "Would it be all right if I called you 'unni'?" — a term for an older sister or a familiar older woman. "When I read that line, I thought, 'Oh, she really has no sense,'" Lee said. She described Rasta as someone who moves on pure instinct, like a hungry child crying for food. "Rasta acts instinctively to survive and to be loved." Rasta also refers to herself in the third person, always using her own name. Lee said she practiced the speech pattern throughout filming so it would sound natural on screen.

Lee Se-young said she aimed to portray what she called "pure evil." "It was a character who absolutely had to have a quality of innocence, so I worked hard to bring out that pure evil," she said. She also put more effort into her appearance than usual. "If she hadn't been pale and pretty, she really would have been despised," Lee said with a laugh.

Director Jo faced the challenge of translating a beloved web novel and webtoon to the screen. "The seriousness of the original novel was different from the brighter, more whimsical webtoon, so I tried to find a middle ground and set the tone from there," he said. "With the production company's support, we put a great deal into the art direction. In the process, we discovered a castle in Germany and thought our characters could have a really wonderful time there." Ju added that the investment in production design and locations was deliberate: "Rather than explaining the world through dialogue, the goal was to find angles where the setting becomes convincing the moment you see it."

The richly realized sets also helped the cast stay immersed. "We fell into the world easily and acted from within it," Shin said. "I hope audiences will step into the world we created and enjoy each actor's charm to the fullest." Lee Jong-suk agreed: "If you enjoy it purely as a piece of work, even if it feels a little unfamiliar at first, I'm certain you'll find it entertaining."