In a surprise announcement at a press conference today, the stars of highly anticipated Korean romantic epic “The Remarried Empress” revealed that the series will premiere a day earlier than originally planned, with its first four episodes dropping today, 3 November, exclusively on Disney+.
Starring Shin Mina as Empress Navier, Ju Jihoon as Emperor Sovieshu, Lee Jongsuk as Crown Prince Heinrey and Lee Seyoung as escaped slave Rashta, the series tells a tale of love, betrayal and power as a royal marriage falls apart, setting the stage for an unexpected remarriage that could change the fate of two empires. Based on the hugely popular NAVER WEBTOON of the same name, which has amassed close to three billion views, the series brings its beloved characters and lavish imperial world to life on screen.
| Q: Can you tell us more about the series, “The Remarried Empress”? |
| Shin Mina: The perfect queen of the Eastern Empire, Navier, is asked for a divorce by her husband, Emperor Sovieshu, who has become entranced by Rashta, a runaway slave. Upon accepting the divorce, Navier requests to remarry Prince Heinrey of the Western Kingdom. |
| Q: “The Remarried Empress” makes a striking impression from the very beginning, as it opens with Navier’s choice. Can you tell us more about your character and what you focused on when portraying her? |
| Shin Mina: Navier is an intelligent, perfect and naturally regal empress who is also confident. Although she is hurt by her husband’s sudden news and betrayal, she rises above it all and takes steps to rewrite her own destiny. As a woman, Navier is also someone who is very independent, and I like her very much. I put a lot of thought into how to portray this character because an empress is supposed to be very regal and have a strong presence. Compared to my previous characters in other projects, she is someone who is not very expressive when it comes to her inner emotions. However, she is also a woman who falls in love and is human. These were the two different sides I wanted to focus on: the empress, Navier, and the human side of Navier. I felt that only by portraying both sides could people resonate with her and follow her narrative. That was the pressure I felt when portraying this character. |
| Q: Sovieshu is the rather scandalous man who shakes up the palace. Jihoon, can you tell us more about your character and what you focused on when bringing him to life? |
| Ju Jihoon: He’s the emperor of the Eastern Empire and someone who is very talented. He’s good at everything he does. However, as human beings, we’re not AI. One day, he opens his eyes to a new kind of love, and that leads to what is almost a sinkhole, creating huge cracks and fractures in his relationship with Navier. In that way, he is quite foolish. But in a way, he’s also almost childlike. He has this innocence about him, where he simply follows his heart and is unable to see how his actions affect others. When you consider my character’s desire to produce an heir and his decision to find a concubine in order to do so, you can understand his actions within the context of the story. For an emperor, having an heir to the throne is extremely important. However, because the narrative is primarily told from Navier’s perspective as the empress, that’s where the complexity comes in. I wanted to make sure that while I was convinced by my own character’s story arc, it wouldn’t clash with that of the empress. |
| Q: The story is told primarily from Navier’s perspective, but Sovieshu also has his own motivations and reasons for his actions. How do you approach portraying his perspective, and how do you feel about the audience’s reactions to your performance following the Busan International Film Festival? |
| Ju Jihoon: Well, if I were the main character, and the title were The Remarried Emperor instead of “The Remarried Empress”, I feel like his actions would make a lot of sense. Having an heir to the throne is extremely important, almost the most important thing, for an emperor. But again, that would be from the emperor’s perspective. Even when certain decisions make sense, they can still end up hurting and affecting other people. If the audience is happy with my performance, then I’m happy too. There’s a lot going on in the world. The weather is cold, the economy is doing badly, and there are so many things that can bring us down. But if you like my character, if you’re able to get angry at me, hate my character and even yell at the screen, and that gives you some kind of satisfaction, then I’m happy as well. |
| Q: What drew you into this project? |
| Lee Jongsuk: I was a big fan of the webtoon. When I heard that it was being adapted for the screen, I knew it was something we hadn’t tried before and that it was going to carve out a new path. Plus, I get to be a prince, which is very cool. I wanted to be a prince. |
| Q: At this critical moment in the imperial couple’s lives, an incredible new character enters Navier’s life: Heinrey. Jongsuk, can you tell us more about your character and what it was like bringing him to life? |
| Lee Jongsuk: I am the prince of the Western Kingdom. He’s someone who is free-spirited, quite laid-back and also very sweet. His name is Prince Heinrey. He harbours a mysterious secret, starts to fall in love with Navier and becomes a very trustworthy aide by her side. From the very beginning, the way the characters around Prince Heinrey were written and set up also felt quite burdensome. There were a lot of descriptions of him as someone who is incredibly charming, someone who could win everybody’s heart with just a single glance. Those descriptions really weighed on me, and it was quite daunting. One thing about the role is that we needed to use CGI for the bird. Our CGI supervisor told me that he would observe certain physical movements and things I did with my body, which he would then incorporate into the bird character. I think I was quite concerned throughout the process. I was quite anxious because until you get to see the final result, you don’t really know how it’s going to look on screen. |
| Q: What about the show appealed to you? |
| Lee Seyoung: So far in my career, I haven’t really portrayed a villainous character who is also adorable. I really wanted to try out this role. I had also worked with Director Cho before, and I joined the project after the other three had been cast. I really wanted to be part of the show and work together with them. I knew I could learn a lot from these big sisters and big brothers, so I was very happy to be part of the show. |
| Q: Mina and Seyoung, whenever your characters meet on screen, they’re rivals who seem to hate each other. But in real life, you two are very sweet to each other and clearly get along well. How was it building that on-screen chemistry while portraying characters who are at odds with each other? |
| Shin Mina: Seyoung is a very hardworking actress in real life. She’s very smart, healthy in every aspect, bubbly and sweet. But Rashta is supposed to be a bit of a villain, right? And I’m supposed to hate Rashta because, to Navier, she is someone who turns her world upside down. Although Seyoung is such a sweet person, she transformed into her character so perfectly that I could also transform into mine and immerse myself in the scenes. There’s an important scene that really showcases the relationship and chemistry between Navier and Rashta. I remember we had to do many takes because it was really hot, but Seyoung did so well. I could actually feel myself starting to hate her a little! Through her performance, I could really see Rashta as that kind of person. I think it’s one of my favourite scenes that I shared with her. |
| Lee Seyoung: While I was acting, I did feel a little sorry. In real life, off camera and on set, Mina and everyone else adored me. They were so happy to have me and were very kind to me. But when I was performing, I did feel a little lonely because I was playing a bad person. I didn’t want to feel like I had to walk on eggshells, so I wanted to be feisty and bold, just like Rashta. The others helped me a lot with that. I think that’s why everyone is giving credit to their fellow cast members. |
| Q: The backdrop is also incredible. The series was filmed in the Czech Republic, with some of its beautiful palaces and other locations brought to life overseas. Director Cho, what were your main areas of focus when creating this world, and what can audiences look forward to seeing? |
| Director Cho: First of all, I thought it was important for the physical spaces to feel convincing and realistic. The production company shared the same vision, so we had a very intensive pre-production process involving the art and VFX teams. We conducted extensive research and went on numerous location scouts. That’s how we eventually came across Schleissheim Palace in Germany. When we finally settled on that location, I thought it would be the perfect playground for all our characters. |
Will Navier find the happiness and freedom she deserves, or will the battle for love and power come at an even greater cost? Find out in “The Remarried Empress”, now streaming exclusively on Disney+. Catch the first four episodes today, 3 November, with two new episodes dropping every Wednesday from 11 November until the finale on 25 November.
